Tamilisai Soundararajan dares Congress chief to debate on Modi vs Rahul

Chennai: In what could be a possible embarrassment to the TNCC chief Su. Thirunavukkarasar who shifted loyalties from the BJP, if he accepts the gauntlet thrown down by the BJP, state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan dared him to visit her party headquarters — Kamalalayam, to debate who is the most popular leader — Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Accepting his challenge, Dr Tamilisai said, "I have heard that he has been criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claiming that Rahul Gandhi is the most popular leader and that he had even challenged me for a debate on this. I am willing to debate… I think, Kamalalayam will be an ideal place for the debate because it was this office that he had frequently visited, rose up in ranks and switched loyalties to the Congress."

Mr Thirunavukkarasar who had been a minister in the MGR cabinet, had joined the BJP under former Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh and made a Union Minister in the NDA. He quit the saffron party and joined the Congress in 2009.

"Mr Modi is undoubtedly the most popular leader. He had been chief minister before becoming the Prime Minister of India," Dr Tamilisai said on Monday.
She also flayed the DMK-Cong pact and said the Congress had aligned with the DMK only to "work for the Dravidian party's downfall." "Instead of fighting the polls in alliance, we have decided to contest the Nov.19election alone," Dr Tamilisai added.

Though the saffron party could not convince the voters on its promise of ensuring a viable alternative force during the two successive occasions, the BJP has once again raised the issue being an alternate to the Dravidian parties during this November polls.