Rahul Gandhi's Controversial Remark on Arun Jaitley Sparks Backlash

In a surprising and controversial claim, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Saturday that late BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley had been sent by the government to "threaten" him over his opposition to the contentious farm laws. The statement has drawn sharp criticism, not only from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but also from Jaitley's family.

Speaking at the 2025 Annual Legal Conclave in New Delhi, Gandhi said, “I remember when I was fighting the farm laws, Arun Jaitley ji was sent to me to threaten me. He told me, ‘If you continue opposing the government and the farm laws, we will have to act against you.’ I looked at him and said, ‘I don’t think you have an idea who you are talking to.’”

#WATCH | Delhi: At the Annual Legal Conclave- 2025, Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "I remember when I was fighting the farm laws, Arun Jaitley ji was sent to me to threaten me. He told me "if you carry on opposing the govt, fighting the farm laws, we will have… pic.twitter.com/8RJWmHo9fE

— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2025

However, Gandhi’s remarks have raised eyebrows as they contradict the timeline of events. Arun Jaitley passed away on August 24, 2019, following a prolonged illness, while the three controversial farm laws were introduced by the Centre as ordinances in June 2020—nearly a year after Jaitley’s demise—and were formally enacted by Parliament in September 2020.

The three laws—The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020—triggered widespread protests and were eventually repealed in November 2021.

Responding to Gandhi’s claims, BJP MP and Union Minister Anurag Thakur strongly refuted the remarks, accusing Gandhi of spreading “a new lie.” “Rahul Gandhi comes up with a new lie and new propaganda every day. I want to remind him that Arun Jaitley died on August 24, 2019. The farm bills were passed in Parliament more than a year later—on September 17 and 20, 2020—in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively. When the bills were introduced, Arun Jaitley was no longer alive,” said Thakur, demanding an apology from Gandhi to Jaitley's family, the BJP, and the nation.

Jaitley’s son, Rohan Jaitley, also responded sharply on social media, denouncing Gandhi’s comments as disrespectful and factually incorrect. “Rahul Gandhi now claims my late father threatened him over the farm laws. Let me remind him, my father passed away in 2019. The farm laws were introduced in 2020. More importantly, it was not in my father’s nature to threaten anyone for holding a contrary view. He was a staunch democrat who believed in building consensus,” Rohan Jaitley posted on X (formerly Twitter).

He added, “If such a situation had ever arisen, he would have invited open and respectful dialogue to find common ground. That was his ethos, and that remains his legacy. I would appreciate Rahul Gandhi being mindful when speaking of those no longer with us. He made similarly distasteful remarks about the late Manohar Parrikar during his final days. Let the departed rest in peace.”

Arun Jaitley was a towering figure in Indian politics and one of the key architects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first-term economic agenda. As Finance Minister from 2014 to 2019, he oversaw major reforms including the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and critical banking sector reforms. He also briefly held the Defence portfolio and was earlier Minister for Commerce and Industry and Law and Justice during the Vajpayee administration.

Jaitley served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 2009 to 2014 and was the Leader of the House in the upper chamber from 2014 to 2019.

His legacy continues to be remembered across political lines as one of statesmanship, legal acumen, and democratic values—making the current controversy all the more contentious.