Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Friday challenged the Congress to a debate on the development work undertaken by the party in comparison to that done by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh in the state and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre.

“We are ready for an open debate with the Congress on the development works done by its governments in 55 years as against the 15 years of Raman Singh’s government in Chhattisgarh and five years of the Narendra Modi government,” Shah said at a rally at Narharpur in Kanker district. Chhattisgarh is scheduled to hold Assembly elections later this year.

“That [Congress] government did nothing to improve the situation,” said Shah. “Raman Singh is responsible for developing Chhattisgarh, which was created by [former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee].”

Under the BJP, the state had managed to extricate itself from the danger of Naxalism and turn to the path of development, said Shah. “While we built roads in Naxalite-affected areas for development, the Congress established relationships with the Naxalites,” he said.

During the two-phase “Atal Vikas Yatra” in September, Singh covered all the 90 Assembly constituencies across the state’s 27 districts to highlight his government’s achievements, PTI reported. “It is commendable that even after 15 years in power, the chief minister connects with the people,” said Shah.