Trouble deepens for Congress in Punjab as Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joins BJP
Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the BJP ahead of crucial Lok Sabha polls.
- Mar 26, 2024,
- Updated Mar 26, 2024 6:02 PM IST
In a massive setback to Congress, its Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday. Bittu, an MP from Ludhiana, had earlier this year demanded the party high command to take action against former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu within 10 days.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Ravneet Bittu said, "Either Sidhu or us (the party members) have to be shown the door if we want Punjab Congress to become an icon for the country."
Congress leaders have been seeking action against Sidhu for several weeks after he held rallies without consulting the state unit. Ravneet Bittu said the Congress lost the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections due to infighting. "I am 100 per cent sure of this."
Bittu had also opposed the party's alliance with AAP and said the party workers in Punjab had asked the leaders not to fight the polls together. "AAP has said many things and has misused agencies and police against us (Congress)," said the Ludhiana MP. Later, the AAP announced that it would go solo in Punjab and contest on all 13 Lok Sabha seats.
Ravneet Singh Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated by Khalistanis in 1995.
In September last year, Bittu claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party was receiving funds from terrorists like Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He also said that Nijjar went to Canada in 1993 and got the citizenship. "Nijjar and company are among the ten most-wanted gangsters and drug peddlers,” the Congress MP told news agency ANI.
The Congress MP's remarks came after the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijaar in Surrey in June triggered a diplomatic feud between India and Canada. Bittu said that the Canadian government was “not sincere” in handling the threats posed by these gangsters and terrorists.
“If Trudeau's father and his party was sincere in handling (extremist) threats, then they should have properly investigated the 1985 Air India 182 bombing,” he said. “What Pakistan used to be earlier, Canada is taking the same role now.”
"These gangsters (in Canada) are supplying drugs to Punjab and destroying the young Punjabis. Nijjar and company captured our gurdwaras in Canada, and the offerings we make there, the entire money is given to Trudeau's party,” the Congress MP said.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday announced that it will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on its own in Punjab. With the BJP deciding to go solo, the border state will see a four-cornered contest in the general elections. Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1, the last phase of the seven-phase elections.
(With inputs from agencies)
In a massive setback to Congress, its Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday. Bittu, an MP from Ludhiana, had earlier this year demanded the party high command to take action against former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu within 10 days.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Ravneet Bittu said, "Either Sidhu or us (the party members) have to be shown the door if we want Punjab Congress to become an icon for the country."
Congress leaders have been seeking action against Sidhu for several weeks after he held rallies without consulting the state unit. Ravneet Bittu said the Congress lost the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections due to infighting. "I am 100 per cent sure of this."
Bittu had also opposed the party's alliance with AAP and said the party workers in Punjab had asked the leaders not to fight the polls together. "AAP has said many things and has misused agencies and police against us (Congress)," said the Ludhiana MP. Later, the AAP announced that it would go solo in Punjab and contest on all 13 Lok Sabha seats.
Ravneet Singh Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated by Khalistanis in 1995.
In September last year, Bittu claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party was receiving funds from terrorists like Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He also said that Nijjar went to Canada in 1993 and got the citizenship. "Nijjar and company are among the ten most-wanted gangsters and drug peddlers,” the Congress MP told news agency ANI.
The Congress MP's remarks came after the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijaar in Surrey in June triggered a diplomatic feud between India and Canada. Bittu said that the Canadian government was “not sincere” in handling the threats posed by these gangsters and terrorists.
“If Trudeau's father and his party was sincere in handling (extremist) threats, then they should have properly investigated the 1985 Air India 182 bombing,” he said. “What Pakistan used to be earlier, Canada is taking the same role now.”
"These gangsters (in Canada) are supplying drugs to Punjab and destroying the young Punjabis. Nijjar and company captured our gurdwaras in Canada, and the offerings we make there, the entire money is given to Trudeau's party,” the Congress MP said.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday announced that it will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on its own in Punjab. With the BJP deciding to go solo, the border state will see a four-cornered contest in the general elections. Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1, the last phase of the seven-phase elections.
(With inputs from agencies)