A violent war of words broke out between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his former aide and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday on the Parliament premises as tensions escalated ahead of the day’s proceedings.

The exchange occurred during an opposition protest before the session began.

Mr Gandhi called third-time Congress leader Ravneet Bittu, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a “traitorous friend”, eliciting an immediate sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, who hit back by calling Mr Gandhi a “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the state).

As Mr. Bittu passed some protesting Congress members near Makar Dwar, Mr. Gandhi was heard saying: “A traitor is walking right next to you. Look at his face.”

Gandhi then appeared to extend his hand towards Bittu and added: “Hello, brother, traitor friend. Don’t worry, you will come back (to the Congress).”

Mr. Bittu refused to shake hands and called Mr. Gandhi “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the state), and the two leaders were seen exchanging words for a while, but he responded sharply.

Today’s war of words comes more than two years after Ravneet Bittu sparked controversy with his remarks targeting Rahul Gandhi.

In 2024, Bittu criticized a member of Congress over his comments about Sikhs during a visit to the United States, going so far as to call him “the number one terrorist in this country.”

The Congress strongly condemned the statement, describing Bittu’s comments as “bottom-tier” and saying his political career within the party before switching to the Bharatiya Janata Party was “messed up”. The party had also demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party remove him immediately over the comments.

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