Abhinav Prakash was nominated by the BJYM chief and BJP MP Tejasvi Surya to take on Rahul Gandhi in the proposed debate.
The BJP has picked its youth wing vice chief Abhinav Prakash to debate with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Prakash, an economist and Youtuber, who is also the Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)– the BJP’s youth wing, was handpicked by sitting Bangalore south MP Tejasvi Surya to debate the Congress scion, who has accepted the invitation from two noted former jurists and veteran editor N Ram to participate in the discourse, on condition that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also partakes.
Talking to news agency ANI, Abhinav Prakash, an Uttar Pradesh resident, took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, saying that he looked forward (to the debate) and hoped “he (Gandhi) does not run away from the debate they way he ran away from Amethi”.
“I would like to thank Tejasvi Surya for deputing me to debate with Rahul Gandhi. I am looking forward to this debate. I am from Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi and his family have represented the state for so long. I hope he doesn’t run away from the debate the way he ran away from Amethi otherwise who knows he will have to run away from Raebareli as well, in the next elections,” Prakash said.
Who is Abhinav Prakash?
Abhinav Prakash was nominated by the BJYM chief and BJP MP Tejasvi Surya to take on Rahul Gandhi in the proposed debate. The BJP’s youth wing chief described Prakash as a “young and dynamic leader of the BJYM” and asserted that the debate between a “political scion and a common youngster who has made his way in life the hard way” will be an “enriching” one.
Born in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, the Gandhi bastion being contested by Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha Election 2024, Abhinav Prakash, who belongs to the Dalit community, is an academic, Youtuber, as well as a budding politician.
Prakash, an alumnus of the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, is currently working as an assistant professor of economics at Delhi University’s Ramjas College. Previously, Prakash taught economics at the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), and Delhi’s Zakir Hussain College.
The BJYM leader also runs a popular YouTube channel ‘Urbanchatterati’, which is described as “dedicated to quality discussions on untouched issues in the Indian public discourse”.
Abhinav Prakash, a close-aide of Tejasvi Surya, is also very active in ground-level politics, addressing rallies and seminars across the country.
‘Right person to debate Rahul Gandhi’
Naming Abhinav Prakash as the BJP’s pick to represent the party in the debate, Tejasvi Surya asserted that the economist was the perfect choice to debate with Rahul Gandhi because as the embodies “new India”.
The BJP MP also asserted that debates are done between equals, noting that Rahul Gandhi is neither a prime ministerial candidate for the Congress, nor the opposition INDIA bloc.
“Debates are done with people of the same designation. In this case, Modi ji is the PM & the PM candidate from NDA. Rahul Gandhi is neither a PM candidate for Congress nor for the INDI alliance. So, a debate between the two is impossible. Abhinav Prakash is the Yuva Morcha worker, and we have deputed him (for debate),” Surya said.
Rahul-Modi Debate
Earlier, accepting the invitation for a public debate with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, BJYM President Tejasvi Surya nominated the youth wing’s vice president Abhinav Prakash.
The announcement came a day after two retired justices, Madan B Lokur, Ajit P Shah, and noted journalist N Ram, wrote to former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi and PM Narendra Modi last week, inviting them to a platform for a debate on key Lok Sabha election issues.
Tejasvi Surya proposed the name of Abhinav Prakash, stating that he is from a Dalit caste, Pasi, which makes up a significant proportion of over 30 per cent of the scheduled caste population in Raebareli where Rahul Gandhi is contesting in the current Lok Sabha election.
On May 10, Rahul Gandhi in a letter said he accepts the invitation for the debate with Modi, and hoped that the Prime Minister also decides to participate.
“It would be a positive initiative for the major parties to present their vision to the country from one platform for a healthy democracy. Congress welcomes this initiative and accepts the invitation for discussion. The country also expects the Prime Minister to take part in this dialogue,” Rahul Gandhi said while accepting the invitation.
On Sunday, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on X, “Day 1 of Rahul Gandhi’s letter accepting an invitation to debate the Prime Minister. The 56-inch chest has not yet mustered the courage to accept the invitation.”
(With ANI inputs)
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