New Delhi | The Congress on Saturday hit back at Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal for his criticism of its government in Chhattisgarh and challenged him to compare the performance of the previous Sheila Dikshit government with his current dispensation in the national capital.

The Congress' sharp reaction came after Kejriwal, campaigning in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, slammed the "terrible condition" of Chhattisgarh government schools.

Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressed an AAP workers' convention in Raipur earlier in the day.

Responding to Kejriwal's attack, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "Why go to Raipur? Performance of our Chhattisgarh govt will be compared with the previous Raman Singh govt."

"Let us choose a sector of your choice and compare the performance of Congress government in Delhi vs your govt here. Ready for a debate?" Khera said.

"Before flying to Raipur, talk about the ground situation of Delhi where the whole city is going into the abyss," he said.

Though the Congress and the AAP are part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of several opposition parties, there has been friction between the two at the state-level.

Earlier this week, fissures had emerged between the two over Congress leader Alka Lamba's remark that the Congress was looking to prepare on all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, drawing a sharp response from AAP which had said what was the point of INDIA alliance if the grand old party was looking to go solo.

The Congress had later clarified that no decision had been taken about alliance and the number of seats it would fight on in next year's Lok Sabha polls.