Ravneet Singh Bittu Resigns as Minister of State for Railways - Here's Why

Minister of State for Railways and Food Industry Ravneet Singh Bittu on Friday resigned from the Union Council of Ministers following which President Droupadi Murmu accepted his resignation with immediate effect, according to an official statement.

The statement mentioned that the resignation was accepted by the President on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Murmu is currently on a foreign visit to three countries.

“On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the President of India has accepted the resignation of Shri Ravneet Singh from the Union Council of Ministers under Clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution of India with immediate effect,” the statement said.

Bittu, who has served in the Union Council of Ministers since 2024, is expected to focus on the Punjab elections scheduled for next year, according to a PTI report. His Rajya Sabha term also ended in June.

Who is Ravneet Singh Bittu?

Ravneet Singh Bittu, 50, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024 after quitting the Congress and unsuccessfully contesting the Lok Sabha elections the same year. He was later nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan to serve the remainder of the term left by Congress leader KC Venugopal.

Bittu was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Anandpur Sahib on a Congress ticket in the 2009 general elections. He later represented Ludhiana in the Lok Sabha after winning the 2014 and 2019 general elections. He served as the Leader of the Congress Party in the Lok Sabha in 2021.

He also contested the Punjab Assembly elections from Jalalabad in 2017 but was defeated by Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal.

In January 2021, Bittu was attacked during a Jan Sansad program at the Singh border. Two years later, in 2023, he received a bomb threat via a WhatsApp call. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he contested the Ludhiana seat on a BJP ticket but lost to Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

Punjab Parliamentary Election 2027

The BJP is expected to contest the 2027 Punjab elections as an independent, allaying speculation of a possible alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), according to ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at the Akali Dal during his visit to Punjab earlier this month, accusing the party of pursuing its “selfish interests” and saying it “doesn’t care about the people of Punjab”.

In the 2022 Punjab elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) registered a landslide victory, winning 92 of the state’s 117 seats, while the BJP managed to secure only two seats.

The BJP is now looking to improve its electoral performance in 2027, banking on the controversy surrounding the alleged sacrilegious video involving Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the ongoing internal rift in the Congress.