New Delhi, Aug 2 (UNI) : Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has come under sharp criticism from Rohan Jaitley, son of the late BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley, following a controversial statement made at the Annual Legal Conclave 2025.
Gandhi alleged that the former Union Finance Minister had once been sent to intimidate him over his opposition to the now-repealed farm laws.
Recalling events during the nationwide farmers’ agitation, Gandhi said: “I remember when I was fighting the farm laws, Arun Jaitley was sent to threaten me,” Gandhi said. “He told me, ‘If you continue opposing the government on this, we will have to act against you.’ I looked at him and said, ‘I don’t think you know who you’re talking to.”
The claim triggered swift and pointed rebuttals, especially from Rohan Jaitley, who highlighted a factual inconsistency: Arun Jaitley passed away in August 2019, while the farm laws were introduced in mid-2020.
Rohan Jaitley wrote:”Rahul Gandhi now claims my late father, Arun Jaitley, 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. He was a staunch democrat who believed in dialogue and consensus. If at all such a situation was to occur, as it often does in politics, he would invite free and open discussions to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to all. That was simply who he was and that remains his legacy today.
Jaitley also urged Gandhi to show greater respect for the deceased. “He did something similar with Manohar Parrikar ji, politicizing his final days. That too was in poor taste. Let the departed rest in peace.”
The three farm laws, which aimed to deregulate the government-run wholesale markets, triggered nationwide protests before being repealed in 2021.
