Rahul was coming towards me after losing his temper: Bittu on face-off with Gandhi

Chandigarh: Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Saturday slammed Rahul Gandhi for hurling a "traitor" barb at him, and alleged he was coming towards him after losing his temper.

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 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 in Amritsar, Bittu said he did not leave the Congress midway, saying he completed his third term as the Congress MP and thereafter, he joined the BJP.

Referring to the incident with Gandhi, Bittu said, "A balloon inside him (Gandhi) burst. The person from a very big family, see what he was saying."

And he was offering a handshake, thinking that he is a 'shahanshah' (emperor), said Bittu.

Asked whether Gandhi lowered his stature by attacking him, Bittu said, "You can say this." In politics, we speak about ideology but we do not make personal attacks, he said.

Replying to a question, Bittu alleged that when he was going to Parliament, Gandhi was coming towards him after losing his temper. His one arm was held by Congress leader K C Venugopal and the other by Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Randhawa.

"He became so violent, do not know what he had, only God knows," claimed Bittu.

Bittu further lashed out at the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, asking from which party Amarinder Singh came when he was made the chief minister and from which party Navjot Singh Sidhu came when he was made the Punjab Congress chief.

Bittu said Amarinder Singh was made the chief minister after he left the Shiromani Akali Dal.

"Who was made the (Punjab) Congress president? Navjot Singh Sidhu. Which party did he come from? Was he a Congressman?" asked Bittu as he targeted the Congress for giving important positions to leaders coming from other political outfits.

Bittu also targeted Punjab Congress leaders, including Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, for criticising him following the incident in Parliament.

The Union minister said both Randhawa and Warring failed to ensure victory of their wives in the by-elections.

Calling Randhawa's wife "aunty" and Warring's spouse "Bhabhi ji of the Congress", he said both lost their respective by-elections, he said.

Bittu further hit out at the Congress for not conferring 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, he said.

Bittu joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Bittu is a Rajya Sabha member who was given a ministerial berth in the third term of the Narendra Modi government.