Rahul calls Bittu 'traitor', Union minister retorts with 'desh ke dushman' jibe
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday exchanged barbs with former party colleague and union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu in Parliament premises.
In videos released by the Congress, Gandhi was heard calling Bittu "a traitor" and the minister retorting with "desh ke dushman" (enemy of the nation) 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.
As soon as he was about to speak, Bittu passed by, and remarked, "they (suspended Congress MPs are sitting here as if they have won a war".
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Gandhi hit back, "The thing is, here is a traitor walking right by. Take a look at the face. How he looks."
Gandhi then extended his hand towards Bittu for a handshake, and said, "Hello brother, my traitor friend".
"Don't worry, you will come back (to the Congress)", Gandhi added addressing the Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing.
Bittu, however, declined to shake hands with Gandhi and, while pointing to him, said, "desh ke dushman."
The union minister was seen in the videos springing past the Makar Dwar stairs, repeating his "desh ke dushman" charge while pointing at the Congress leaders and suspended MPs, who continued to jeer at him.
They were also heard saying, "surrender, surrender".
Bittu, the grandson of late Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was a former MP of the Congress from Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib before he switched sides to the BJP ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
#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..."
— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2026
LoP Rahul Gandhi offered to shake his hands, saying, "Hello brother, my traitor… pic.twitter.com/5wMgjM8KAW
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
