The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday took a swipe at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu over their comments against each other, saying the exchange “exposed” their level of political maturity.
The party’s reaction came a day after Congress leader Gandhi called Union minister Bittu a “traitor,” prompting the BJP to accuse the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha of insulting the entire Sikh community and seeking action from Speaker Om Birla.
The incident took place outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar on Wednesday. As Bittu was entering the House in the morning, Rahul Gandhi called him a “traitor,” to which the minister responded by calling him “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the nation).
Responding to the episode, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal took a jibe at both leaders and said, “I feel both are correct.” SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the country could only pity the level of political leadership after witnessing what happened between Gandhi and Bittu.
“It exposes the level of maturity these political leaders have,” he said, adding that issues affecting the people should be discussed in Parliament and such incidents do not deserve importance. Responding to the BJP’s charge that Gandhi insulted the Sikh community, Cheema said personal disputes should not be turned into matters of the ‘qaum’ (Sikh community). “Their real level has now come before the public,” Cheema told reporters here.
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said both Gandhi and Bittu earlier shared a close relationship that later broke down. “They had earlier stayed together. Rahul Gandhi used to say Beant Singh was their family while the Beant Singh family had been saying that Rahul Gandhi was their family. It is their internal matter,” Majithia said, while taking a dig at both leaders.
Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. He had joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections after quitting the Congress.
He is currently a Rajya Sabha member and was inducted as a minister in the third term of the Narendra Modi government.
Bittu, a former three-time MP from Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib, is serving as Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries.
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