Modi Accuses Gandhi of Insulting Sikhs in Bittu Row

A heated exchange between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu outside Parliament on Wednesday escalated into a broader political controversy, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defend Bittu in the Rajya Sabha the following day, accusing Gandhi of insulting the Sikh community.

The incident occurred near the Makar Dwar entrance as Congress members, including Gandhi, who serves as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, were protesting ahead of the Budget Session. As Bittu, a former Congress MP who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2024, walked past the group, Gandhi pointed him out and said, "Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face." Extending his hand in a gesture that appeared mocking, Gandhi added, "Hello, brother, my traitor friend. Don't worry, you will come back to Congress." Bittu refused the handshake and responded by calling Gandhi "desh ke dushman," or enemy of the country. The brief confrontation, captured on video, drew laughter from some Congress protesters and highlighted ongoing tensions between the two leaders, who once had a closer association when Bittu served under Gandhi in Congress.