New Delhi, Feb 5 (NationPress) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ramped up its critique of Lok Sabha's Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of exhibiting “childish” and “unparliamentary” behavior during the current Budget Session of Parliament. The BJP condemned Gandhi for labeling Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu a “traitor”. In response, the Opposition criticized the ruling party for allegedly trying to politicize the dispute between Bittu and Gandhi by invoking religious sentiments.

This latest clash comes amidst heightened tensions regarding LoP Gandhi’s repeated inquiries into the Ladakh standoff in Lok Sabha, referencing a magazine article that supposedly discussed the “unpublished book” by former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane (Retd.).

The situation escalated further when Gandhi, during a parliamentary exchange on Wednesday, referred to Ravneet Singh Bittu as a “traitor” friend, provoking strong reactions from the BJP and its allies.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh criticized the Congress leader, stating, “It is unfortunate that due to the obstinacy of a child, the House is at an impasse. This child's name will be recorded in infamy.”

Other BJP leaders echoed these sentiments, condemning LoP Gandhi for his comments directed at Bittu, labeling the language as inappropriate for parliamentary discourse.

BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana remarked, “The Constitution permits anyone to join or leave any political party. Using such unparliamentary terms and calling a member of a community that has fought for the country a traitor is an insult to that entire community. A Leader of the Opposition must refrain from such language.”

JD(U) spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad commented that “traitor” is not a term suitable for parliamentary dialogue.

“Because of the childish actions of the LoP, their party is continually in turmoil and will inevitably face shame,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress party defended Gandhi, accusing the BJP of attempting to communalize the incident for political gain.

Senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal stated, “How does religion factor into this? The BJP has a tendency to reduce everything to religion. What have they accomplished for the Sikhs so far? Now they speak about the Sikhs... solely to maintain their grip on power.”

The Shiv Sena (UBT) also criticized the BJP's reaction and questioned the effort to associate Gandhi's remarks with any specific community.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi noted, “How does this become an affront to the nation or the Sikhs? The exchange illustrates the current state of the Lok Sabha session: animosity and discord, with both sides entrenched in their positions, lacking cooperation, dialogue, or compromise. The events in Parliament reflect this. Regrettably, inappropriate language was used by both sides.”

She further accused the BJP of seeking political advantage from the incident, asserting, “The BJP tries to leverage every situation for political gain. Connecting it to any community is absurd.”