“The factor is, right here’s a traitor strolling proper by. Check out the face, that’s what it seems like. Hey, brother, my traitor buddy. Don’t fear, you’ll come again (to the Congress),” mentioned Gandhi as he supplied to shake Bittu’s hand. Bittu responded by calling Gandhi “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the nation) and refused to shake fingers with him.

“After I was stepping into, he did the identical factor even contained in the Home. Speaker despatched them out. I’m in dialogue concerning additional plan of action…He behaved like a ‘sadak ka gunda‘ even outdoors. Gandhi household has all the time focused Sikhs and turbans…Not one of the different MPs mentioned something. All suspended MPs have been sitting there. We’re all colleagues who meet on a regular basis. Rahul Gandhi is LoP however I have no idea what occurred to him,” Bittu advised the media.

Reacting to the Gandhi’s remarks, Bittu mentioned: “…He feels that he’s the largest patriot, that his father sacrificed himself. Congress get together and Gandhi household had set Punjab on hearth. Bullets have been fired at our largest gurdwara, at Golden Temple. They focused hundreds of Sikhs, Punjabis and killed them”.

He added, “If Rajiv Gandhi is known as ‘shaheed‘ (martyr), we must also say shaheed-e-azam Sardar Beant Singh. I additionally come from that household, that is my ache. The grandson of 1 martyr was tremendous so long as I used to be with him. Now that I’m within the BJP, he’s utilizing such phrases for me. What does he consider himself? He prolonged his hand in the direction of me as if he’s an emperor. He considers himself the proprietor of this nation, of this world.

“I won’t belong to the Gandhi household, however I’ve a turban on my head. So, when he supplied to shake fingers with me, I mentioned ‘aap log toh desh ke gaddar ho, desh ke dushman ho’ who speaks in opposition to the Military and the nation on a regular basis. Gandhi household is the homicide of Sikhs, I gained’t shake fingers with the son of that household.”

Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. He beforehand served as a Congress MP in Lok Sabha for 3 phrases from 2014 earlier than dropping as a BJP candidate in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He was additionally the Congress’s whip within the Lok Sabha from 11 March 2021 to 18 July 2021. In January 2021, he was assaulted on the Singhu border throughout a Jan Sansad programme.

After becoming a member of the BJP, Bittu was fielded by the get together from Ludhiana for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Nevertheless, he misplaced to Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Regardless of dropping the election he was inducted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers with a watch on BJP’s footprint in Punjab.

Bittu earlier gained from Ludhiana in 2014 and 2019, and Anandpur Sahib earlier than that in 2009. His grandfather Beant Singh, a Congress chief, is credited with ending 20 years of militancy in Punjab and is seen as one of many key faces of the anti-militancy marketing campaign within the state. Beant Singh was assassinated whereas he was the chief minister.

BJP chief and Andhra Pradesh Well being Minister Satya Kumar Yadav termed Gandhi’s actions ‘shameful’ and demanded an apology. “Rahul Gandhi addressing Union Minister Shri Ravneet Bittu as a ‘traitor’ is totally shameful. It displays the identical vanity and entitlement that has lengthy outlined the Nehru-Gandhi household. He should apologise instantly,” he wrote on X.

Delhi Surroundings Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa too hit out on the Congress over Gandhi’s remarks. “I strongly condemn within the harshest phrases the language utilized by Rahul Gandhi at this time in Parliament in opposition to Sikh minister Ravneet Singh Bittu ji, calling him a traitor. This assertion is deeply shameful. A Sikh Sardar can by no means be a traitor,” Sirsa mentioned. 

“If anybody is a traitor, it’s the Gandhi household. They who attacked Sri Darbar Sahib with tanks and cannons, demolished Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and burned harmless Sikhs alive by placing tires round their necks. That is an insult to Sikhs, and it’ll completely not be tolerated. The poison of the Eighties nonetheless lingers within the Congress get together’s mindset,” he added.

Sirsa urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take motion in opposition to Gandhi. 

The problem has since snowballed right into a political standoff, with the BJP holding a press convention which was addressed by get together leaders Sirsa, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, get together spokesperson R.P. Singh and Delhi MLA Arvinder Singh Beautiful.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri additionally held a press convention condemning Gandhi’s remarks and mentioned it “crosses all boundaries of civility, decency and dignity”. 

“It’s totally attainable that he holds a deep grudge in opposition to Bittu ji for selecting the insurance policies of vikas espoused by Modi authorities over the directionless Congress. However, that can’t ever justify such a slur in opposition to a proud Sikh whose personal grandfather was slain by terrorists,” he mentioned.

Puri mentioned calling a ‘distinguished Sikh’ a traitor with none foundation is a slur on all the Sikh neighborhood. “His remark is a slur on each Sikh. It’s an insult to the contributions made by Sikhs in each sphere. It’s a slur on our religion and our love for the motherland. It’s a slur on the sacrifice of Bittu ji’s grandfather and former Punjab CM Sardar Beant Singh ji. Allow us to additionally not overlook the desecration of Golden Temple in 1984 with the identical mindset.”