New Delhi: A war of words broke out Wednesday between Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu after the former referred to him as a ‘traitor’, evoking sharp criticism from the BJP.
During a demonstration by Congress MPs in the Parliament complex ahead of the day’s proceedings, as Bittu walked past the protesting MPs near the Makar Dwar, Gandhi while referring to Bittu as a ‘traitor friend’ said he would “come back to the Congress”.
Bittu had joined the BJP after resigning from Congress in 2024. He is currently Union Minister of State (MoS) for Railways and the Food Processing Industries. He has been a Rajya Sabha MP representing Rajasthan since August 2024.
“The thing is, here’s a traitor walking right by. Take a look at the face, that’s what it looks like. Hello, brother, my traitor friend. Don’t worry, you will come back (to the Congress),” said Gandhi as he offered to shake Bittu’s hand. Bittu responded by calling Gandhi “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the nation) and refused to shake hands with him.
“When I was going in, he did the same thing even inside the House. Speaker sent them out. I am in discussion regarding further course of action…He behaved like a ‘sadak ka gunda‘ even outside. Gandhi family has always targeted Sikhs and turbans…None of the other MPs said anything. All suspended MPs were sitting there. We are all colleagues who meet everyday. Rahul Gandhi is LoP but I do not know what happened to him,” Bittu told the media.
Reacting to the Gandhi’s remarks, Bittu said: “…He feels that he is the biggest patriot, that his father sacrificed himself. Congress party and Gandhi family had set Punjab on fire. Bullets were fired at our biggest gurdwara, at Golden Temple. They targeted thousands of Sikhs, Punjabis and killed them”.
He added, “If Rajiv Gandhi is called ‘shaheed‘ (martyr), we should also say shaheed-e-azam Sardar Beant Singh. I also come from that family, this is my pain. The grandson of one martyr was fine as long as I was with him. Now that I am in the BJP, he is using such words for me. What does he think of himself? He extended his hand towards me as if he is an emperor. He considers himself the owner of this country, of this world.
“I might not belong to the Gandhi family, but I have a turban on my head. So, when he offered to shake hands with me, I said ‘aap log toh desh ke gaddar ho, desh ke dushman ho’ who speaks against the Army and the nation everyday. Gandhi family is the murder of Sikhs, I won’t shake hands with the son of that family.”
Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. He previously served as a Congress MP in Lok Sabha for three terms from 2014 before losing as a BJP candidate in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He was also the Congress’s whip in the Lok Sabha from 11 March 2021 to 18 July 2021. In January 2021, he was assaulted at the Singhu border during a Jan Sansad programme.
After joining the BJP, Bittu was fielded by the party from Ludhiana for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, he lost to Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Despite losing the election he was inducted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers with an eye on BJP’s footprint in Punjab.
Bittu earlier won from Ludhiana in 2014 and 2019, and Anandpur Sahib before that in 2009. His grandfather Beant Singh, a Congress leader, is credited with ending two decades of militancy in Punjab and is seen as one of the key faces of the anti-militancy campaign in the state. Beant Singh was assassinated while he was the chief minister.
BJP leader and Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav termed Gandhi’s actions ‘shameful’ and demanded an apology. “Rahul Gandhi addressing Union Minister Shri Ravneet Bittu as a ‘traitor’ is absolutely shameful. It reflects the same arrogance and entitlement that has long defined the Nehru-Gandhi family. He must apologise immediately,” he wrote on X.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa too hit out at the Congress over Gandhi’s remarks. “I strongly condemn in the harshest terms the language used by Rahul Gandhi today in Parliament against Sikh minister Ravneet Singh Bittu ji, calling him a traitor. This statement is deeply shameful. A Sikh Sardar can never be a traitor,” Sirsa said.
“If anyone is a traitor, it is the Gandhi family. They who attacked Sri Darbar Sahib with tanks and cannons, demolished Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and burned innocent Sikhs alive by putting tires around their necks. This is an insult to Sikhs, and it will absolutely not be tolerated. The poison of the 1980s still lingers in the Congress party’s mindset,” he added.
Sirsa urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take action against Gandhi.
The issue has since snowballed into a political standoff, with the BJP holding a press conference which was addressed by party leaders Sirsa, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, party spokesperson R.P. Singh and Delhi MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also held a press conference condemning Gandhi’s remarks and said it “crosses all boundaries of civility, decency and dignity”.
“It is entirely possible that he holds a deep grudge against Bittu ji for choosing the policies of vikas espoused by Modi government over the directionless Congress. But, that cannot ever justify such a slur against a proud Sikh whose own grandfather was slain by terrorists,” he said.
Puri said calling a ‘distinguished Sikh’ a traitor without any basis is a slur on the entire Sikh community. “His comment is a slur on every Sikh. It is an insult to the contributions made by Sikhs in every sphere. It is a slur on our faith and our love for the motherland. It is a slur on the sacrifice of Bittu ji’s grandfather and former Punjab CM Sardar Beant Singh ji. Let us also not forget the desecration of Golden Temple in 1984 with the same mindset.”
(Edited by Niyati Kothiyal)