As Ravneet Bittu approached to walk past the suspended Congress MPs, Rahul Gandhi called him a ‘traitor’ and extended his hand, drawing a sharp ‘desh ke dushman’ retort in response (PTI photo)
NEW DELHI: Union minister and former Congress MP Ravneet Bittu and Rahul Gandhi got into a bitter exchange Wednesday, when the LoP mocked him as a “traitor” and a surprised Bittu retorted with a “desh ke dushman” barb.The exchange — which took place at the main entrance of the Parliament building, where Rahul was standing in solidarity with the eight MPs who are on protest since being suspended from the Lok Sabha a day earlier — was caught on video and promptly went viral. It was also circulated by Congress.While walking towards Parliament for morning proceedings, Bittu, grandson of former Punjab CM Beant Singh, who was killed by Khalistani terrorists, mocked the protesters “as sitting as if they had won a war”, which appeared to have annoyed Rahul and his colleagues.As he approached to walk past, Rahul said, “The thing is, here is a traitor walking right by. Take a look at the face. How he looks.” Bittu wagged his finger and retorted, “desh ke dushman (enemy of the country)”. Rahul then extended his hand towards Bittu and said, “Hello brother, my traitor friend”, even adding, “Don’t worry, you will come back (to Congress)”. Bittu, however, did not reciprocate with a handshake. As he walked past, Congress MPs jeered, “surrender, surrender”. The altercation had a fallout outside Parliament, with BJP protesting against Rahul’s “traitor” jibe. BJP fielded several Sikh faces, including Union minister Hardeep Puri, Delhi minister Manjinder Sirsa and MLA Arvinder Lovely, to hit out at Rahul. Puri claimed that “traitor” is used for those who betray their country, and said Rahul’s comment was all the more insulting for Sikhs as Ravneet is the grandson of former Punjab CM Beant Singh, who was assassinated by Khalistani terrorists and is lauded for his role in restoring normalcy in Punjab.“Use of such language for a member of such a family is not only shameful but an insult to 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,” Puri alleged.Rahul and Bittu had a close association before the Punjab neta crossed over to BJP ahead of the 2024 LS elections. He contested from Ludhiana on a BJP ticket but lost to Amarinder Raja Warring.In fact, Punjab Congress netas posted a video in which Bittu says Rahul encouraged him to start tying a turban. In the viral clip, Bittu says, “If I am standing here in a turban, it’s because of Rahul Gandhi, who told me I should wear a turban.”
