Chief of opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu have been concerned in a pointy verbal confrontation exterior the Parliament complicated on Wednesday, after Gandhi referred to his former aide as a “traitor”, triggering a political spat that later drew within the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP).
The trade passed off when the 2 leaders crossed paths close to Parliament. Pointing in direction of Bittu, who’s presently the minister of state for railways, Gandhi remarked, “Here’s a traitor strolling proper by. Check out his face.” Referring to Bittu’s exit from the Congress in 2024 to affix the BJP, Gandhi added, “Hey brother, my traitor pal. Don’t fear, you’ll come again (to Congress),” whereas extending his hand for a handshake.
Bittu, nonetheless, refused to shake arms with Gandhi. Later reacting to the remarks, he accused the Congress of believing it alone represented patriotism.
“They [Congress] suppose that they’re the most important patriots,” Bittu mentioned, alleging that Congress leaders thought-about themselves “kings of the nation”.
Bittu additionally introduced up historic grievances, saying the Congress accorded former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi the standing of a martyr after his assassination in 1991, however didn’t prolong the similar recognition to his grandfather, Sardar Beant Singh. Beant Singh, a Congress chief and former Punjab chief minister, was assassinated by a suicide bomber in 1992 in the course of the interval of intense counter-insurgency operations towards Sikh militancy.
In a subsequent assertion to the press, Bittu mentioned he had refused to shake arms with Gandhi as a result of, in his view, the Congress occasion and the Gandhi household have been “enemies of the nation” and “murderers” of Sikhs. He cited Operation Blue Star, the 1984 army motion ordered by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on the Golden Temple to flush out militant chief Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. “Our largest and most holy Gurudwara, Guru Granth Sahib ji, was shot at. Punjabis and Sikhs have been murdered, our sisters and moms have been murdered,” Bittu mentioned.
The BJP later rallied behind Bittu, with three Sikh leaders — Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Arvinder Singh Beautiful — holding a press convention to sentence Gandhi’s remarks. Puri mentioned, “This mindset… is troubling. I can perceive that Rahul Gandhi, the Chief of the Opposition, could also be upset that Bittu ji was in his occasion after which left it. If he desires to specific his anger, he may say, ‘My pal, my long-lost pal, you’ll come again.’ However as a substitute, calling somebody a ‘traitor’ and saying ‘you’ll come again’ is unacceptable.”
Individually, later within the day, Gandhi escalated his criticism of the BJP and the Prime Minister. Chatting with reporters within the Parliament Home complicated, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to “fulfil his accountability” in the course of the 2020 India-China standoff within the Kailash Vary. Gandhi referred to an unpublished memoir by former Military chief Normal Manoj Mukund Naravane, which he mentioned he had been disallowed from studying in Parliament since Monday.
“I don’t suppose the PM may have the heart to return to the Lok Sabha as we speak, as a result of if he comes, I’m going to provide him this e-book,” Gandhi mentioned, including that the memoir would assist the Prime Minister and the nation “know the reality.”
