NEW DELHI: A dramatic and politically charged confrontation unfolded at the gates of Parliament on Tuesday when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu engaged in a sharp verbal exchange amid a Congress protest.
Rahul Gandhi was sitting on a dharna along with eight Congress MPs to protest their expulsion from the Lok Sabha when Bittu, a former Congress MP who has since joined the BJP, arrived at the scene. During the encounter, Rahul Gandhi referred to Bittu as a “traitor friend, ” triggering an immediate and aggressive rebuttal.
Bittu shot back by calling Rahul Gandhi an “enemy of the country, ” escalating tensions further. He also refused to shake hands with Rahul Gandhi when the Congress leader extended his hand during the argument, underlining the bitterness of the exchange.
The BJP quickly rallied behind Bittu. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi’s use of the word “traitor, ” asserting that “traitors are those who work against the nation, not those who choose a different political path.” BJP leader and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also condemned Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, alleging that the Congress has a history of branding Sikhs as traitors. Sirsa went a step further, accusing the Gandhi family of having “betrayed the Sikh community.”
Rahul Gandhi, however, continued his verbal sparring with Bittu, telling him, “Don’t worry, you will come back to the Congress, ” a remark that drew sharp reactions from BJP leaders.
Adding fuel to the controversy, the Congress party later released AI-generated images of Ravneet Singh Bittu wearing a shirt emblazoned with the word “traitor, ” drawing criticism from the BJP for what it called a personal and provocative attack.
Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab chief minister late Beant Singh, reminded critics that he had served as a Congress MP before switching sides. He accused the Congress of being responsible for the killing of Sikhs in Punjab and referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, alleging that the party has never been held fully accountable. Bittu said that when he was in Congress he was grandson of a martyr and now after joining BJP, I am a traitor.
The heated exchange, unfolding in full public view at Parliament’s gates, highlighted the deepening acrimony between the Congress and the BJP, while also bringing personal histories and unresolved political wounds back into the national spotlight.