Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday hit out at Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi after being called a 'traitor' during a confrontation near Parliament, saying that even 'goons' would not behave the way the Congress leader did.
Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp verbal attack, referring to Bittu as a "traitor", prompting an immediate and strong rebuttal from the former Congress leader. As Bittu walked past the suspended MPs, Gandhi was heard remarking, "Here is a traitor walking right by.
Look at the face." He also extended his hand towards Bittu and said, "Hello, brother, my traitor friend. Don't worry, you will come back (to the Congress)." Speaking exclusively to IANS, Ravneet Singh Bittu said, "I was going from the main gate of the Parliament.
When I was going and then I saw from very far, Rahul Gandhi was saying something. Everything is in front of you, I can't use that word in front of you." He added, "Everything is on the recording, I can't say anything. He told me to 'come back to us'.
I think, he has some misunderstanding that he is still prince of somewhere. He thought I will shake hands with him but then I said, 'Rahul ji aap toh desh ke dushman ho. You are the enemy of soldiers, you always talk against them in Parliament'."
Bittu further alleged that Rahul Gandhi made personal comments and did not maintain the decorum expected of a parliamentarian. "Second thing is that, other MPs were going out from there, but what you said was personal. It's like when someone is with you then everything is fine.
But, when they are not with you then it's not good," he said. He also referred to past incidents involving the Congress, claiming, "They have killed so many Sikhs whether it was the police or terrorists, they were Sikhs only. They destroyed the Gurdwaras. They have always been the 'enemy.'"
"A sardar will never shake hands with the scion of the Gandhi family, the murderer of Sikhs. Second thing, they had one problem, my grandfather had sacrificed his life. Their father was also martyred. But, if workers used to raise slogan for both, then they used to have a lot of problem with that," he said.
Bittu also recalled political developments in Punjab, saying, "When P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister, then Gandhi rule ended. Things changed." "When my grandfather became CM of Punjab, he brought peace. The killings between Sikhs and Hindus also stopped at that time.
They had a problem with this," he claimed. Alleging that Rahul Gandhi attempted to confront him, Bittu said, "Streets goons will not do what Rahul Gandhi did. When I didn't shake hand, then he came to physically assault me. But, Venugopal Ji came and took him back.
If not stopped, then he would have assaulted me. From my side also, I would have done something if they would have assaulted me." Questioning the Congress leader’s conduct, he said, "As a parliamentarian, does it suit him. How will he show his face? How can you use such words no matter which party you are in."
Bittu also said he was now in a party that had given him respect. "You have a misunderstanding. Right now, I am in such a party where the BJP, PM Modi and Amit Shah have given me a lot of respect," he told IANS. "In politics, it doesn't suit if someone abuses. If this had happened somewhere else, then no one would have believed. But, this happened in Parliament, then only people got to know about this," he added.