The war of words between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and MoS for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday has snowballed into a major political row. Following the heated exchange outside the Parliament, Bittu has now accused the Leader of Opposition of behaving like a “sadak ka gunda”.
The confrontation occurred amid protests by opposition MPs near the Parliament complex. According to Bittu, he had remarked that protesting MPs were “sitting as if they won a war”, following which Gandhi approached him. The exchange escalated quickly, with Gandhi allegedly calling Bittu a “traitor”. When Gandhi offered to shake hands, Bittu refused, calling the protesting MPs “desh ke dushman”.
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‘I’m strong too,’ says Bittu
Bittu alleged that the Congress leader attempted to manhandle him during the altercation. “He has good fitness but I too am strong. But this is not what we do in politics. We have to speak with decorum using Parliamentary language. He is exposed today. He stooped to hooliganism,” the minister said. The MoS had quit the Congress and joined the BJP in 2024.
The BJP condemned Gandhi’s remarks and said they had hurt sentiments within the Sikh community. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri alleged Gandhi targeted Bittu only because he had left the Congress.
MoS Bittu explains what all happened
Speaking to ANI, Bittu said the confrontation had also spilled into the House earlier, leading to intervention by the Speaker. “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,” he said.
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“I was good for you as long as I was with you (in Congress). Now that I am in the BJP, you started disliking me…When I responded to him…if you see the video, he wanted to escalate it to manhandling me. It was Venugopal who stopped him. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa stopped him,” Bittu said. “Haath milata hai meri jutti (Shake hands, my foot). He tried to come after me, but his MPs stopped him. You can see it in the video,” the BJP leader added.
The minister went on to allege that the Gandhi family had historically targeted Sikhs and said he was surprised at Gandhi’s behaviour despite daily interaction among MPs. The Congress has not yet issued a detailed response to the allegations. |
