Childish, unparliamentary: BJP sharpens attack on Rahul Gandhi; Opposition hits back

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday intensified its criticism of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of displaying “unparliamentary” and “childish” behaviour during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament and slammed him for calling Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu a “traitor”. The Opposition in turn hit back accusing the ruling party of attempting to bring religion into the spat between Bittu and Gandhi for political advantage. 

Targeting the Congress leader, Union Minister Giriraj Singh told reporters, “It is regrettable that due to the stubbornness of a child, the House has been forced into a deadlock. This child’s name will be written in black letters.”

Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana said, “The Constitution of the country allows any individual to join or leave any political party. Using such unparliamentary words and calling a person from a particular community a traitor, a community that has fought for the country, protected it and sacrificed lives, insults the entire community. A Leader of the Opposition should not use such language.”

JD(U) spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad stated that the word ‘traitor’ cannot be part of parliamentary terminology.

“Due to the childish actions of the LoP, their party is always in trouble and, sooner or later, they have to feel ashamed,” he added. The Congress, however, defended Gandhi and accused the BJP of deliberately injecting religion into the controversy. Senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal questioned the BJP’s narrative, asking how religion became part of the issue. He accused the ruling party of routinely communalizing matters for political advantage and challenged its record on issues concerning the Sikh community, alleging that such rhetoric was aimed solely at retaining power.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) also criticized the BJP’s response, questioning the attempt to link Gandhi’s remarks to an entire community. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi described the episode as a reflection of the broader dysfunction in the Lok Sabha, marked by bitterness, rigid positions, and a lack of dialogue. She acknowledged that inappropriate language had been used by both sides but rejected the claim that it amounted to an insult to the nation or any community. Chaturvedi further accused the BJP of seeking political mileage from the controversy, calling the effort to connect the incident to a specific community “ridiculous.” (IANS)

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