Rahul Gandhi, Bittu trade barbs near Parliament entrance

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu exchanged sharp words near Parliament’s Makar Dwar during a protest by suspended MPs. Gandhi called Bittu a traitor, while the minister retorted with “desh ke dushman”, drawing attention to the political spat

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday exchanged barbs with former party colleague and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu in the Parliament premises.

In videos released by the Congress, Gandhi was heard calling Bittu “a traitor”, and the minister retorting with a “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the nation) jibe.

---

The incident took place right outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar, the main entrance used by MPs to enter the new Parliament building, where Gandhi was standing in solidarity with suspended Congress MPs, mostly from Punjab.

As soon as he was about to speak, Bittu passed by and remarked, “The suspended Congress MPs are sitting here as if they have won a war.”

Gandhi hit back, “The thing is, here is a traitor walking right by. Take a look at the face. How he looks.” Gandhi then extended his hand towards Bittu for a handshake and said, “Hello brother, my traitor friend.”

“Don’t worry, you will come back to the Congress,” Gandhi added, addressing the Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing.

Bittu, however, declined to shake hands with Gandhi and, while pointing at him, said, “desh ke dushman.” The Union minister was seen in the videos walking past the Makar Dwar stairs, repeating his “desh ke dushman” charge while pointing at the Congress leaders and suspended MPs, who continued to jeer at him.

They were also heard saying, “Surrender, surrender.”

Bittu, the grandson of late Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was a former Congress MP from Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib before he switched sides to the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.