NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: A sharp war of words between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu snowballed into a political storm on Wednesday with the BJP urging the Lok Sabha Speaker to take action against the LoP.
The face-off took place outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar, where Rahul was standing with the suspended opposition MPs, who were protesting on the stairs.
While walking past the protesting MPs, Bittu said, “They are sitting here as if they have won a war.” In response, Rahul said, “The thing is, here is a traitor walking right by. Take a look at the face. How he looks.”
Rahul then extended his hand towards Bittu and said, “Hello brother, my traitor friend. Don’t worry, you will come back to the Congress.” Bittu refused to shake hands, saying: “Desh ke dushman (enemies of the country),” pointing at Rahul.
A former close aide of Gandhi, Bittu had switched to the BJP ahead of the 2024 polls.
Later in a video statement, Bittu asked why Rahul didn’t say such a thing to other MPs, but only to a Sikh? “I am the grandson of a martyr (former Punjab CM Beant Singh, who was assassinated by militants in 1995) and as long as I was in the Congress, it was fine. But, now that I am with the BJP, he is giving me such names,” he said.
Stepping up the attack, the BJP fielded its Sikh leaders, including Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, to accuse the Congress of harbouring the same “anti-Sikh mentality” that was on display at the height of the 1984 riots.
But Congress MP Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the word “my traitor friend” used by Rahul was to address Bittu as an individual who ditched the party in testing times. “It is by no means an insult to the Sikh community.”
The ‘traitor’ jibe evoked reactions in Punjab, which will go to polls next year. Ashwani Sharma, BJP leader, said Rahul is trying to cover up his failures by using abusive language.