Ravneet Bittu refuses to shake hands with Rahul Gandhi after 'traitor friend' jibe, fires 'desh ka dushman' salvo | Watch

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called his former aide and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu "a traitor friend" as the latter refused to shake hands with the Congress leaders in Parliament premises.

A sharp war of words broke out between the two leaders during an opposition protest before the Budget Session began.

Gandhi referred to Ravneet Bittu, a three-time MP from the Congress who joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as his “traitor friend,” drawing an immediate and pointed response from the BJP leader, who retorted by calling Gandhi a “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the nation).

#WATCH | Delhi: As Union MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu passes by the protesting Congress MPs at Makar Dwar, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, "Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face..."

LoP Rahul Gandhi offered to shake his hands, saying, "Hello brother, my traitor… pic.twitter.com/5wMgjM8KAW — ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2026

Bittu refuses to shake hands

The fiery exchange of words took place when Bittu walked past protesting Congress MPs near the Makar Dwar and Gandhi was heard saying, “Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face.”

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

Bittu declined to shake hands and responded sharply, calling Gandhi a “desh ke dushman” (enemy of the nation), as the two leaders were seen briefly exchanging words.

This is not the first time that the two leaders have got into a stinging war of words. Earlier in 2024, Bittu had criticised the Congress MP over his comments on Sikhs during a visit to the US and went so far as to call him “the number one terrorist of the country.”

The Congress had strongly condemned the statement, describing Bittu’s remarks as “bottom-tier” and saying his political career in the party, before he switched to the BJP, had been a “mess.” The party had also demanded that the BJP immediately sack him over the comment.