Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for hurling a “traitor” barb at him, and alleged he was close to getting into a physical confrontation with him outside the Parliament.
The Union minister of state for railways and food processing industries also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leaders for standing by him.
While Bittu was entering the Parliament on Wednesday morning, Gandhi called him a “traitor” as the minister retorted with “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the country) jibe.
The incident took place right outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar, the main entrance which MPs take to enter the new Parliament building, where Gandhi was standing in solidarity with suspended Congress MPs, mostly from Punjab, who were protesting on the stairs.
Speaking to the media at the BJP district office in Amritsar on Saturday, Bittu claimed that Gandhi was coming at him after losing his temper. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had to restrain him by holding his arms, he said, adding that the situation might have worsened had they not stepped in. He described Gandhi’s behaviour as an outburst of accumulated frustration.
Reacting to allegations of his switch from the Congress to the BJP, Bittu said those branding him a “traitor” should reflect on their own commitment to the party. He accused the Congress leadership of consistently overlooking experienced leaders while favouring politicians who joined from other parties.
In this regard, he pointed to the examples of Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu, who came from other parties and were still given prominent roles by the Congress high command despite the presence of long-serving leaders.
Bittu asserted that he had not betrayed the Congress, highlighting that he had served the party as a member of Parliament for three complete terms before moving to the BJP. He said feeling neglected within the party was a key reason behind his decision to change sides.
The minister further hit out at the Congress for not conferring the Bharat Ratna on his grandfather and former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in 1995. They gave Bharat Ratna to former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, but never valued the sacrifice of “Shaheed Beant Singh” who was also a Congress CM, he said.
Bittu had joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls after serving as a Congress MP for three terms, twice from Ludhiana in 2014 and 2019, and once from Anandpur Sahib in 2009.
Now a Rajya Sabha member, representing Rajasthan, he was given a ministerial berth in the third term of the Narendra Modi government.
(With agency inputs)
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