New Delhi [India], February 5 : Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu on Thursday slammed Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over the "traitor" remark and dubbed the Congress party a "family affair".
Rahul Gandhi and the BJP leader exchanged words outside Parliament, with the Lok Sabha LoP calling Bittu a "traitor." The Union Minister responded with "Desh ke dushman (enemy of the state)" for the Congress leader.
Incidentally, Bittu, who was in the Congress, had switched to the BJP in 2024.
Speaking to ANI, Ravneet Bittu said that he left the party as it was no longer the "real Congress".
"When we were there (in Congress), we were winning seats for the party. We were never a burden on them. Then, when it became clear that the party had become a family affair and was no longer the Congress party it once was, everyone started leaving. If it had remained the real Congress, people would have stayed. I said that if this were the real Congress, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi themselves would have climbed on tables and gotten suspended (from the House) first," the Union MoS said.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal called Rahul Gandhi's remarks an insult to the Sikh community.
Pal said, "The Sikh community has definitely been insulted. The statements being made by Rahul Gandhi, isn't he really an enemy of the country? He is an enemy of the Parliament and democratic values. This must be the first time that because Rahul Gandhi was stuck on one issue, the four-day discussion on the President's address was completely washed out."
On Wednesday, Gandhi said, "Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face", as Bittu passed by. The Congress leader offered to shake his hands, saying, "Hello, brother, my traitor friend. Don't worry, you will come back (to Congress)."
The Union MoS refused to shake hands and called Rahul, "Desh ke dushman (enemy of the state)". The exchange of words began when Ravneet Bittu commented on the protesting MPs, saying, "They are sitting as if they won a war."
Bittu criticised Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress leader had resorted to the use of such language as he was peeved with switching to the BJP.