why the leaves are bitter
They are bitter because animals dislike bitter taste. Many plants, including most plants which humans use as salad greens or leaf vegetables, are naturally bitter. They have evolved this way as a protection from being eaten.
Humans are trying to reduce the bitterness through selective breeding, and have been rather successful in recent decades, but this doesn't mean that every single plant you encounter will have lost its bitterness.
whether they are edible
Yes, plants sold as vegetables are edible, even exemplars which are bitter.
is it possible to remove the bitterness in the leaves
No, it isn't possible. For some bitter plants, you can do a salt water soak, but leafy greens are no longer tasty after a long soak. Once you bought a bitter plant, you have to live with its bitterness.