With India witnessing peak Lok Sabha Elections 2024 fever, political parties are busy pelting their opponents with accusations. Each day every political party comes up with new accusations against each other. Amid all these screamings and social media's information warfare, the basic agenda or point gets lost into oblivion. No leaders answer the accusation with facts, but they use another accusation to counter it. However, to counter this, a team of former judges including the Supreme Court has sent a proposal to Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi to participate in a live public debate that will be streamed on unbiased TV channels and social media portals ahead of the final phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 that will take place on June 1, 2024.
Former Supreme Court judge MB Lokur, former HC CJ AP Shah, and veteran journalist N Ram invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for a public debate on the Lok Sabha Election 2024. Below is what their proposal says-
".....The General Election for the 18th Lok Sabha has already reached its midpoint. During rallies and public addresses, members of both the BJP, the party in power, and the INC, the principal opposition party, have asked Important questions relating to the core of our constitutional democracy. The Prime Minister has publicly challenged the Congress on reservations, Article 370, and wealth redistribution. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has questioned the Prime Minister on possible mutilation of the Constitution, Electoral Bond scheme, and the government's response to China, and also challenged him to a public debate. Both sides have asked each other questions about their respective Manifestos, as well as their stand on the constitutionally protected scheme of social justice.
As members of the public, we are concerned that we have heard only allegations and challenges from either side and have not heard any meaningful responses. 1. As the art aware, today's digital world carries with it a propensity for misinformation, misrepresentation, and manipulation. In these circumstances, It Is fundamentally important to ensure that the public is well educated about all aspects of the debate, so that they can make an informed choice at the ballots this is vital to the effective exercise of our electoral franchise.
To this end, we believe that citizens would hugely benefit by hearing directly from our political leaders through a public debate on a nonpartisan and noncommercial platform. It would be ideal if the public heard not just the questions of each side, but also the responses. We are of the view that this would help to strengthen our democratic process immensely. This bears more relevance as we are the world's largest democracy, and the entire world is watching our elections keenly. A public debate such as this would, therefore, net a great precedent, not just by educating the public, but also by projecting the true image of a healthy and vibrant democracy.
Accordingly, we respectfully request the two of you, as leading voices from the two sides that seek the peoples' mandate, to have a public debate with each other on the key issues of this election. The venue, duration, moderators, and format are agreeable to both sides. We trust you will consider our request positively. We also suggest, and only if either of you is unable to address this debate, you may nominate a representative to the debate."
It is pertinent to mention here that the debate between the two biggest leaders during the election is not a new concept. In the USA, during the Presidential elections, the two final candidates hold a public debate in front of thousands of people. However, such a concept is new in India. However, if it happens, it can surely break viewership records.