• Source:JND

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sparked a row on Wednesday after he greeted former party colleague and now BJP MP Ravneet Singh Bittu as a "traitor friend". While the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha made the remark on a lighter note, sparking laughter from other Congress MPs, it did not land well with Bittu, who hit back with "desh ke dushman" jibe. Bittu had quit Congress to join BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

How Banter Unfolded In Parliament Premises

The banter broke out between Rahul Gandhi and Ravneet Bittu at the Makar Dwar of Parliament as the Union Minister was passing by the protesting Congress MPs. When Bittu came close, the LoP said, "Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face." Gandhi offered to shake hands, saying, "Hello brother, my traitor friend. Don't worry, you will come back (to Congress)."

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'Desh Ke Dushman,' Retorts Bittu

With a smiling face, Bittu refused the handshake while calling Gandhi and Congress "desh ke dushman (enemies of the nation)". Later, speaking to news agency ANI, the BJP leader 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, he said, adding that 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," Bittu said.

Congress Stage Protest At The Stairs Of Makar Dwar

The incident happened when Congress MPs were staging a protest at the stairs of Makar Dwar over the India-US trade deal. The MPs were carrying posters which read, "PM is compromised." 

While speaking to reporters, Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he did not think the PM would have the guts to come to the Lok Sabha today. "I don't think PM will have the guts to come to the Lok Sabha today because if he comes, I am going to give him this book. If the PM comes, I will go physically and hand him this book so he can read it and the country can get to know the truth," he added.

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"Every youngster in India should see that this book exists. This is Mr Naravane's book. He has given an entire account of Ladakh in this book; I have been told that I cannot quote this book," the Congress leader said.

"The main line is what the PM said - "jo uchit samjho wo karo". When the (former) Chief of Army Staff General Naravane called up Rajnath Singh ji and said that Chinese tanks have reached the Kailash Ridge, so what should we do? First, Rajnath Singh did not respond to him. He asked Jaishankar ji, NSA and Rajnath Singh but received no reply. He then called up Rajnath Singh once again. Rajnath Singh told him that he would ask the 'top'. The standing order of the 'top' was that if Chinese forces come in, we should not fire on them without permission. Naravane ji and our Army wanted to fire on those tanks because they had entered our territory," he elaborated.

(With agency inputs) 


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