‘Traitor’ vs ‘Desh Ke Dushman’: Rahul Gandhi, BJP’s Ravneet Bittu exchange jibes outside parliament – WATCH

Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, and Union Minister of State (MoS) for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday (Feb 4) exchanged heated words outside the Parliament. In the video, Gandhi is seen calling Bittu a “traitor”, while in return, the Union MoS calls the LoP “enemy of the nation”. This comes as the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon amid heavy sloganeering by Opposition members after eight Opposition MPs were suspended a day earlier during the Budget Session.

The exchange began when Bittu commented on the MPs protesting outside the parliament, holding posters reading “PM is compromised.”

“They are sitting as if they won a war,” he said.

Responding to Bittu, who quit Congress and joined the BJP in 2024, Gandhi said, “Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face.” He then offered his hand to shake and said, “Hello, brother, my traitor friend. Don’t worry, you will come back (to Congress).”

Bittu refused to shake hands and instead called Gandhi “Desh ke dushman (enemy of the state).” The whole ordeal was captured on camera.

Following the exchange, Bittu hit back at Gandhi, recalling Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to criticise the Congress.

“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,” he said.

“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.