New Delhi: Congress MPs staged a protest accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “compromising”. During this, a heated argument broke out between Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu.
The Congress MPs had gathered outside Parliament holding placards that read “PM is compromised”. The protest was to reiterate the claims made by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to the media a day earlier regarding the India-US trade deal.
Meanwhile, when Minister of State for Railways and BJP MP Ravneet Singh Bittu passed by the protesting MPs, Rahul Gandhi pointed at him (Bittu) and said “traitor friend”. Gandhi then sarcastically extended his hand towards Bittu and said that he would eventually return to the Congress.
Bittu refused to shake hands and responded angrily, accusing Gandhi of being anti-national. The two were seen exchanging sharp words for some time. The verbal war further heated up the atmosphere of the protest.
The clash came amid heightened tensions in the Lok Sabha following the suspension of eight opposition MPs for the remainder of the session. The suspended members include Gurjit Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, Dean Kuriakose, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, B Manikam Tagore, Dr Prashant Yadavrao Padole, Chamla Kiran Kumar Reddy and S Venkatesan.