Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi drew a sharp counter from late BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s son this morning, after the Congress MP claimed that the government had sent the former Union minister to threaten him over the Opposition’s pushback against the farm laws.
The farm laws – comprising three separate legislations that would have deregulated the government-run wholesale markets – were introduced in 2020 but withdrawn after over a year due to massive protests by farmers. This was after Arun Jaitley died, pointed out his son, Rohan Jaitley.
The BJP, too, snubbed Mr Gandhi’s claims as “fake news”.
Speaking at the Annual Legal Conclave 2025, Mr Gandhi, who now leads the Congress charge in Lok Sabha, claimed that Arun Jaitley had threatened him with action if he carried on the protest against the three farm laws.
#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
“I remember when I was fighting the farm laws, Arun Jaitley was sent to me to threaten me. He said, ‘If you carry on opposing the government, fighting 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,'” Rahul Gandhi said.
Rohan Jaitley countered him with a timeline of his father’s death and the farm laws controversy. In a long online post, Mr Jaitley, president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association, said it was not his father’s nature to threaten the opposition; rather, he preferred open discussions.
“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 over an opposing view. He was a staunch democrat and always believed in building consensus. If at all such a situation were to occur, as it often does in politics, he would invite free and open discussions to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for all. That was simply who he was, and that remains his legacy today,” said Mr Jaitley.
He also urged Mr Gandhi to be mindful while speaking of those who have departed.
“He attempted something similar with Manohar Parrikar ji, politicising his final days which was in equally poor taste. Let the departed Rest in Peace,” he added, referring to Mr Gandhi’s claims about the former defence minister over the Rafale deal.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya also slammed Mr Gandhi. To suggest that Arun Jaitley approached him (Mr Gandhi) for anything at all is factually incorrect and misleading, he said, and asked the Congress leader to stick to facts and rewrite timelines.
“Fake News Alert. Rahul Gandhi claims that Shri Arun Jaitley approached him to water down his opposition to 2020 Farm Laws. Let’s set the record straight: Arun Jaitley ji passed away on 24 August 2019. The draft Farm Bills were brought to the Union Cabinet on 3 June 2020. The laws were enacted in September 2020,” he wrote on X.
