"I have come to Lucknow after accepting the challenge to participate in a debate with Siddhartha Nath Singh but the minister has not kept his promise," Sisodia told reporters, pointing to a vacant chair on the dais at Gandhi Bhawan here.

 

Talking to reporters, the Delhi deputy chief minister said that the UP minister had levelled false allegations against the Kejriwal government when the Aam Aadmi party announced its decision to contest the UP assembly elections.

 

"He challenged us to a debate and here I am. I want the people and not surveys, to decide whether they prefer the Kejriwal model of development or the UP model," he said.

 

Trashing the allegation that students were dropping out of government schools in Delhi, Sisodia said that 62 per cent of the children in Delhi were in government schools.

 

Denying the charge that the Kejriwal government had turned its back on migrants from the Purvanchal region, Sisodia said: "We opened our school buildings for migrants and gave food to 15 lakh people every day. We do not have a machinery that churns out false propaganda every minute. Besides, has BJP forgotten how migrants from UP were beaten up in Surat?"

 

When asked how he could compare Delhi with UP which is much larger in terms of size and population, the AAP leader said: "Everyone knows about the size and population of this state. When you contest elections, you should know whether you can fulfil the promises you are making to the people. No one forced you to apply for your job. Moreover, if UP is much larger in terms of population and size, the tax revenue is also much larger. If you want to deliver, there is no excuse."

 

Meanwhile, BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who is a known AAP baiter, was also in Lucknow on Tuesday.

 

Mishra told reporters that his questions to the Kejriwal government had gone unanswered. He alleged that AAP was not a development-oriented party but an advertisement-oriented party.