The BJP on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his claim that former finance minister Arun Jaitley had threatened him during the agitation against the now-repealed farm laws.
The ruling party called the Lok Sabha leader of Opposition’s statement “factually incorrect” and in “poor taste”.
Rohan Jaitley, son of the late minister, denied Rahul’s accusation, pointing out that his father passed away in August 2019 while the farm laws were introduced in 2020.
“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,” Rohan Jaitley wrote in a post on X.
He added that his father was a staunch democrat who believed in dialogue and consensus, not threats.
“It was not in my father’s nature to threaten anyone over an opposing view… I would appreciate Rahul Gandhi being mindful while speaking of those not with us,” he said.
At the Congress’s ongoing annual legal conclave, Rahul had said, “I remember when I was fighting against the farm laws, Arun Jaitley was sent to threaten me... I replied, ‘You don’t know who you’re talking to. We’re Congress people. Even the British couldn’t bend us.’”
The Congress’s official handle also shared the clip of the statement on X.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman described Rahul’s remarks as “despicable”.
“If irresponsibility has a face, it is Rahul Gandhi. To throw baseless allegations at people in public life, even those no longer with us, is becoming a personality trait in him,” Sitharaman said,
The BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya posted a timeline of events, stating that the farm bill drafts were introduced to the Union cabinet in June 2020 and enacted in September 2020, nearly a year after Jaitley’s death on August 24, 2019.
“Any discussion, whether in support or opposition, began after these developments. To suggest Arun Jaitley approached him is factually incorrect and misleading,” Malviya said.
The BJP’s Karnataka unit also took a swipe at the Congress leader, calling him a “Dynasty Clown” and accusing him of peddling “fresh lies” each day.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai said, “When DMK is in Congress’s alliance, these tales are unsurprising… Perhaps this imaginary encounter stems not from political reality, but from an overdose of time-travel comics.”
Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel defended his leader, stating that while Rahul may have mentioned a late leader once the BJP frequently refers to former prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi family.
“We do not take the name of any deceased leader. But how many times do these people mention Indira Gandhi, Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi? Even the prime minister’s speech on Operation Sindoor began and ended with Pandit Nehru,” Baghel said.