A war of words erupted in the Lok Sabha between Congress leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party from the Congress.
The House was adjourned for some time due to the verbal exchange between the two. Shortly later, Bittu released a video statement accusing Channi of cheating the people.
Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu condemned the statement by Channi, saying farmers had been charged under NSA. He said that Bittu termed this statement a despicable attempt to belittle and mock at the farming community.
"Today, a former Chief Minister pointing towards Channi indulged in anti-national behaviour and presented wrong information in the Lok Sabha. He said that NSA was imposed on farmers, which is totally false. The NSA was brought against the radical elements who were known to separate Punjab from India," Bittu said.
Further, he slammed the Congress leadership for having supported Channi's remarks in the House.
"When Channi was speaking, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was sitting there and tacitly endorsing all these charges," he said.
Earlier, participating in the discussion on the Union Budget, Channi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime, accusing it of imposing a de facto Emergency.
"This government does not treat all citizens fairly. Their sole focus is maintaining power. The BJP is responsible for a financial emergency in the nation. They frequently discuss past Emergencies, but currently, there exists an undeclared Emergency," Channi asserted.
He also extended support to Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan leader, and MP from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, who is under detention presently as he is booked under the NSA.
An MP has been elected by twenty lakh people, yet he is arrested under the NSA. Freedom of expression is being throttled, and the constituents cannot bring forth their issues in this House. This also amounts to Emergency-like situation," Channi argued.
The loud confrontation between Channi and Bittu drew good attention of fellow lawmakers.
Channi referred to the assassination of Bittu's grandfather and former Punjab CM Beant Singh during the budget debate. Bittu took these personal comments very hard and retorted, "My grandfather sacrificed his life for the nation, not for the Congress party."
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