Maharashtra Elections 2024: Milind Deora Challenges Aaditya Thackeray For Open Debate On 'Future Of Worli & Mumbai'

Shiv Sena MP and party's candidate from Mumbai's Worli constituency for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Milind Deora, on Wednesday challenged Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and his opponent in the seat, Aaditya Thackeray, to an open debate on the future of Worli, Mumbai, and Maharashtra. In an X post, Deora referred to Aaditya's old post in which he had said, "Someone who is scared of an open debate with rival candidates is not worthy of being in any public forum."

Responding to an old post by Aaditya on X, which was posted in May this year during the Lok Sabha elections, Deora invited the former Maharashtra minister to a debate, saying, 'Let's also talk about BMC's 30-year misgovernance, Mumbai Metro delays, Mahalaxmi Racecourse, and the Sachin Vaze scandal’s impact on Maharashtra’s economy.'

'Worlikars should decide whether "speed breaker politics" or "progress without speed limits" is the best way forward for our city and state,' he added.

Notably, in May this year, Aaditya Thackeray had challenged the Shiv Sena candidate Yamini Jadhav, who was pitted against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Arvind Sawant from Mumbai South seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Aaditya had said that two events where citizens could have watched South Mumbai candidates debate face-to-face and be asked questions by the citizens were canceled at the last minute. He alleged that the police canceled the events citing 'fear of political workers clashing.'

In the post, he further said that Shiv Sena (UBT) South Mumbai candidate Arvind Sawant was ready for the debate and open questions, but the event was canceled.

'Someone who is scared of an open debate with rival candidates is not worthy of being in any public forum, the Parliament being the highest,' Aaditya had said.