Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu and LoP Rahul Gandhi engaged in a verbal spat outside Parliament. Bittu called Gandhi a "sadak ka gunda" (street thug) after Gandhi reportedly labelled him a "traitor" for joining the BJP from Congress.
Union MoS for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu called the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Congress MPs "Sadad ka gunda" (street thug) following a heated exchange between the two leaders outside the Parliament. Rahul Gandhi and Ravneet Singh Bittu engaged in a verbal altercation, with the Lok Sabha LoP calling Bittu a "traitor." The war of words began when Ravneet Bittu commented on the MPs protesting outside Parliament, saying, "They are sitting as if they won a war." Refusing Rahul's offer to shake hands, Bittu replied, "Desh ke dushman (enemy of the state)".
Bittu Alleges Rahul Gandhi Escalated Situation
Ravneet Bittu alleged that Rahul Gandhi escalated the situation by attempting to manhandle him. The Union Minister said Rahul's remarks came after he quit the Congress and joined the BJP in 2024. Speaking to ANI, the Union MoS said, "When I was going in, he did the same thing even inside the House. The Speaker sent them out. I am in discussion regarding further course of action. They behaved like a 'sadak ka gunda' even outside. The 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 every day. Rahul Gandhi is LoP, but I do not know what happened to him, what personal anger he has in him. He told me, you will come back to me again. He attempted to shake hands with me."
"I was good for you as long as I was with you (in Congress). Now that I am in the BJP, you started disliking me. But how can you say that for me? How can you say that I will come back to you? When I responded to him...if you see the video, he wanted to escalate it to manhandling me. It was Venugopal who stopped him. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa stopped him...I have the 'Guru's turban over my head. I am from Punjab. How can I bow before you? Haath milata hai meri jutti (Shake hands, my foot). He tried to come after me, but his MPs stopped him. You can see it in the video," the BJP leader added.
Union Minister Invokes 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots
Recalling the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, Ravneet Bittu accused Congress of indulging in attrocities on Sikhs "I said, you are the biggest traitor of this country, the murderers of Sikhs. His goons killed thousands of Sikhs in this country. They vandalised our most sacred Gurudwara. When workers used to chant 'shaheed' for Rajiv Gandhi, they also used to also call Sardar Beant Singh 'Shaheed-e-azam'. The problems in Punjab, the terrorism there - Sikhs were called, but action was not taken. So, it was Sardar Beant Singh who calmed Punjab," he added.
Delhi Minister Slams Rahul Gandhi, Demands Action
Meanwhile, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also slammed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for calling Ravneet Singh Bittu a "traitor," recalling Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. In response, the Delhi Minister called Rahul a "traitor" and said, "The kind of words used by Rahul Gandhi against a Sikh Minister, calling a Sikh Sardar 'traitor' - I strongly condemn this. This is very shameful. If there is a traitor, it is you, Rahul Gandhi. Sikh Sardar can never be a traitor. Reflecting such a mindset and using such words for Sikhs, says that Congress' mindset has not changed even to this day. If there is a traitor, it is the Gandhi family, which attacked Sri Darbar Sahib with tanks, which harmed Akal Takht Sahib, and which burned innocent Sikhs alive. We strongly condemn the sin you have committed, the insult you hurled at Sikhs, and the foul words you used for Sikhs. We will not tolerate this. I would like to tell the Lok Sabha Speaker to immediately initiate action against Rahul Gandhi." (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)