Amid the ongoing dispute over the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has thrown down the gauntlet to opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiromani Akali Dal, and Congress, by extending an "open invitation" for a "live debate on all issues" instead of engaging in "daily bickering."

In a statement posted in Hindi on X, CM Mann said, "It is my open invitation to BJP chief Jakhar ji, Akali Dal's Sukhbir Singh Badal, and Congress's Raja Wadding-Pratap Bajwa ji that instead of daily bickering, come once and sit in front of the media and discuss who looted Punjab and how... brother-nephew, brother-in-law, friends-relatives, youth-farmers, businesses-shopkeepers, speeches of Gurus, Canal waters... Let's do a live debate on all issues."