Rahul Gandhi Claims Modi Govt Sent Arun Jaitley To 'Threaten' Him In 2020 For Opposing Farm Laws; BJP Leader's Son Fact-Checks Him

New Delhi: Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the Narendra Modi government sent Arun Jaitley to threaten him when he was protesting against the 2020 farm laws. Notably, Jaitley died in 2019, and the fam laws were passed in the Parliament in September 2020. Gandhi made these remarks at the Annual Legal Conclave- 2025

"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 to act against you". I looked at him and said, "I don't think you have an idea who you are talking to," the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) said.

Rahul Gandhi's Remark:

Jaitley's son, Rohan Jaitley, slammed the Congress MP for the bizarre claim. "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," Roahn Jaitely said in an X post.

"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. I would appreciate Rahul Gandhi being mindful while speaking of those not with us. He attempted something similar with Manohar Parrikar ji, politicising his final days which was in equally poor taste," he added.

The government had introduced the farm laws in June 2020 as ordinances. The farm bills were passed in Parliament in September 2020. These laws - The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 - were repealed in November 2021.

Jaitley died on August 24, 2019. He held key positions during the first term of the Modi government from 2014 to 2019. Jaitley served as Defence Minister from May 26, 2014, to November 9, 2014 and March 13, 2017, to September 3, 2017. He also served as Finance Minister from 2014 to 2014.

It was under his tenure that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system was implemented.

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