‘Jaitley was sent to threaten me, LS poll was rigged': Rahul's speech at Congress conclave raises storm

The Print

11 hours ago

'He is not here anymore. So, really, I should not say this, but I will. Arun Jaitley ji was sent to threaten me. And he said that 'if you carry on down this path, opposing the government, fighting us on the farm laws, we will have to act against you. I looked at him and said, I do not think you know who you are talking to … Because we are Congress people, we are not cowards. The British could not bend us. The superpower could not bend us. Who the hell are you?' said Rahul.
Speaking at a Congress conclave on constitutional challenges in Delhi's Vigyan Bhavan Saturday, Rahul also launched a fresh salvo at the Election Commission of India, claiming the 2024 general elections were 'rigged' to ensure Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return to power.
New Delhi: Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged Saturday that former Union Minister Arun Jaitley, who died in August 2019, threatened him during his fight against the farm laws, calling it a reflection of the Bharatiya Janata Party's ideology, driven by 'cowardice'.
Shortly after Rahul's speech, Rohan Jaitley, the son of Arun Jaitley and the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association, hit back at the Congress leader, pointing out that the BJP stalwart passed away a year before the introduction of farm laws.
'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. 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. Let the departed Rest in Peace,' Rohan wrote on X.
"Land Acquisition Bill पर मत बोलो, अगर बोलोगे तो केस लगाएंगे' — यही बोला था अरुण जेटली जी ने राहुल गांधी जी को।
2015 का ये बिल ही काले कृषि क़ानूनों की पहली सीढ़ी था।
अरुण जेटली तब भारत के वित्त मंत्री थे। https://t.co/hdTQsw049P pic.twitter.com/GaDQbW0v8S
— Varun Choudhary (@varunchoudhary2) August 2, 2025
In an X post, Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore later clarified that Rahul was essentially referring to the Congress's protests against the attempt to amend the Land Acquisition Act in 2015.
During the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in 2024, Rahul said that Jaitley warned him not to oppose the Modi government's attempt to amend the Land Acquisition Bill.
A significant portion of Rahul's speech, however, was directed at the ECI. Rahul Gandhi has previously questioned the outcome of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls, but for the first time, he publicly cast doubt on the results of the general elections, as well. Though the Congress improved its tally from 52 to 99 seats last year, the BJP formed the government, despite a dip in its numbers.
Rahul said the Congress had clear evidence to support the charge.
The remarks followed a warning he issued a day earlier to poll body officials, saying those involved in electoral malpractices would not be spared, even after retirement. The commission, in its response, criticised the MP for his'daily threats', dismissing his allegations as baseless.
Sharing what he claimed was the Congress's analysis of voting data released by the Election Commission for one Lok Sabha seat, which he did not name, Rahul said that the findings were shocking. He said the detailed scrutiny of the data took six months.
'And you will see, with no doubt, zero doubt, how a Lok Sabha election was stolen. Six-and-a-half lakh voters vote, and one-and-a-half lakh of those voters are fake. It is based on documentation we got from the election commission. We went comparing photograph by photograph, name by name. And you will see the shock wave that is going to go through the electoral system when we release this data. It is literally like an atom bomb. Because the truth, my friends, is that the election system in India is already dead,' Rahul said.
Rahul made the remarks in front of the entire Congress top leadership, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and the chief ministers of Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh—states where the party is in power.
Pointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is serving with a 'slim majority', in an apparent reference to the BJP'sreliance on allies to form the government, Rahul said the party would not have returned to power had it won 10 to 15 fewer seats.
'Ten to 15 seats were rigged. And we suspect the number is much closer to 70, 80, or 100. We will prove to you—without any doubt, in the coming few days, how a Lok Sabha election can be rigged and was rigged …
We did not have proof, so we could not make these statements earlier. But I am making this statement confidently because I have 100 percent proof now,' he said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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