New Delhi:

Congress leader and Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Thursday challenged Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate on his governance model. "If Modi has so much confidence on his model of governance, let us have an open debate, he can decide on the place. Let the people of the country be the judge," said Tewari.

Gujarat Chief Minister was anointed as the BJP Campaign Committee chief in March 2013. After his anointment, Modi is making his presence felt in various parts of the country. He had been seen in various states promoting the BJP for the next Lok Sabha polls recently.

Tewari had alleged Modi of human rights violation and took a jibe at him by denying any debate on the issue. He said that it is apparent that there was a case of human rights violations in 2002 Gujarat riots and who should be held responsible.

Tewari was speaking in New Delhi against the backdrop of BJP MP Chandan Mitra's remarks against Noble laureate Amartya sen. BJP MP Chandan Mitra demanded Amartya Sen's Bharat Ratna be taken back. Mitra said, "Amartya Sen says he doesn't want Modi to be India's PM. Is Sen even a voter in India? Next NDA government must strip him of Bharat Ratna."

Amartya Sen, in his interview with CNN-IBN Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose, had said, "As an Indian citizen I don't want Modi as my PM, he has not done enough to make minorities feel safe."

Tewari said that this is an attack on the freedom of expressions. Tewari hit out at the BJP, said "Modi is giving a statement daily."

"He and his party considers their freedom to speak important but does not believe the same for others," he said.

source:http://ibnlive.in.com/