Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called former party member Ravneet Singh Bittu a “traitor” during a clash in Parliament on Wednesday. The Bharatiya Janata Party hit back hard, tying the harsh words to the painful memories of Operation Bluestar.
Gandhi was rallying outside Parliament against the suspension of eight Congress MPs. He also pushed to allow former army chief MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir into the House. The book details the India-China border clash. Bittu, now a Union Minister, approached the group. Gandhi offered a handshake, but Bittu turned it down after hearing “here is a traitor walking right by.”
VIDEO | Parliament Session: When Union MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu passed by the protesting Congress MPs at Lok Sabha’s Makar Dwar, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said, “”Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face… Hello my friend… you will come back (to… pic.twitter.com/Xv13858qPT
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 4, 2026
“Look at the face… Hello my friend… you will come back [to Congress],” Gandhi added as Bittu walked away. Bittu, a three-time MP, left Congress for BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He now handles Railways as Minister of State, Food Processing Industries as Minister of State, and sits in Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.
Bittu fired back outside Makar Dwar, recalling Operation Bluestar. That June 1984 army action under Indira Gandhi’s rule cleared militants like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from Amritsar’s Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest site. “They [Congress] think they are top patriots. Congress and Gandhi family torched Punjab. Golden Temple got wrecked… My grandfather Sardar Beant Singh died a martyr… I was fine with you [Congress] then, now with BJP, you call me traitor,” Bittu said.
“He [Rahul] acts like some emperor. I told him your lot are desh ke gaddar, nation’s foes… You badmouth the Army every day,” he went on.
BJP’s Hardeep Singh Puri slammed it at a press meet. “Traitor means betraying the country—don’t toss it around lightly.” He pointed to Bittu’s turban. “Big deal for Sikhs. LoP Gandhi’s mad Bittu left, but says he’ll return. Calling a turbaned man traitor just for quitting? Unacceptable for any group. Parliament talk needs decency inside and out,” Puri stated.
VIDEO | Parliament Session: When Union MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu passed by the protesting Congress MPs at Lok Sabha’s Makar Dwar, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said, “”Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face… Hello my friend… you will come back (to… pic.twitter.com/Xv13858qPT
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 4, 2026
Ex-Congress, now BJP’s Jaiveer Shergill called it an “anti-Sikh” move. “To Rahul, nation-servers are traitors, foot-kissers are loyal. Insulting Sardar Bittu slurs all Sikhs, shows his anti-Sikh bias, arrogance, rudeness. He’s unfit as LoP. Sikhs guard the nation, unlike him who blasts Army, shames India, loves Pakistan headlines,” Shergill said. Gandhi’s Parliament act was shameful, disgusting, unfit for LoP, he added.
Parliament stalled for a third day straight amid opposition uproar led by Gandhi over Naravane’s blocked memoir. An extract hit Caravan magazine in December 2023. Full book, set for January 2024, got delayed without army okay. It covers Naravane’s take on 2020 India-China face-off, hinting at leadership waverings.