Amritsar, May 3

Virsa Singh Valtoha, SAD candidate contesting for Khadoor Sahib seat, has challenged the Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh contesting independently against him.

Addressing a public gathering, Valtoha has given a call to hold a debate with any representative from Amritpal's team on the poll 'agenda' pertaining to the Panth and Punjab. He said he would withdraw from the contest if he was proven to be 'less-Panthic' in the debate.

"Pick any one person from your side (Amritpal) opposite me to have a face-to-face live discussion on the agenda pertaining to safeguarding the Sikh Panth and Punjab. It should be telecast unfiltered. During the debate, if the weight tilts towards the other side and I am proved to be 'jhootha' (liar) or 'kamzor' (weak) to fight for the Panth and Punjab, I will withdraw", he said.

He said he hoped that his 'open invite' would be accepted by the Amritpal team. Nonetheless, Valtoha had also questioned Amritpal contesting the poll when he had openly refused to acknowledge the Constitution of India and had termed his passport as a travel document.

He had blamed that Amritpal's candidature was announced by none other than an RSS-associated person.

"Those having allegiance to the RSS have been meeting him in the jail. Surprisingly, his candidature was announced by one RSS-affiliated person and his family members were oblivious of this development, then," he said.

On April 29, a day after the announcement of his candidature, Valtoha had visited Amritpal's parents to seek their support but returned disappointed.