New Delhi [India], February 4 : Union MoS for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu hit back at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over "traitor" remark, saying the Congress leader is using such language because he had quit the Congress and switched to the BJP.
Ravneet Bittu recalled Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to criticise the Congress.
He said, "They think they are the biggest patriots. Even my grandfather Sardar Beant Singh... Congress and the Gandhi family started a fire. Bullets were fired at the Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple. They committed targeted killings of thousands of Sikhs. If former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is referred to as 'Shaheed', then I also come from the family of Shahid-e-Azam Beant Singh."
"You were fine when I was with you, but now that I am in the BJP, you are using such language. After such remarks, he is offering his hand as if he were a king," the Union MoS added.
Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi and Ravneet Singh Bittu engaged in an exchange of words outside the Parliament, with the Lok Sabha LoP calling Bittu a "traitor."
Rahul Gandhi referred to Ravneet Bittu as a "traitor" as he passed by the protesting Congress MPs at Makar Dwar of the Parliament. Rahul Gandhi's jibe came as Raveent Bittu quit Congress and switched to the BJP in 2024.
Gandhi said, "Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face." 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."
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 pm amid uproar by Opposition MPs during Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's address on the India-US trade deal.