Union Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday criticised Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, alleging a “huge contradiction” between his words and actions, particularly in the context of the 2013 ordinance saga.
Meghwal’s remarks followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s reference to the incident, where Rahul Gandhi publicly tore up an ordinance brought by the UPA government under then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh—legislation widely seen as an attempt to shield RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav.
“There is a huge contradiction in Rahul Gandhi’s personality. He says one thing but does another. On one hand, he talks about ending corruption, and on the other, he opposes the Constitution Amendment Bill meant to ensure accountability. This exposes the contradiction in his thoughts,” Meghwal told ANI.
Earlier, Amit Shah had also questioned Rahul Gandhi’s shifting stance on morality. “Why did Rahul Ji tear the ordinance that Manmohan Singh brought to protect Lalu Ji? If there was morality that day, what has changed now? Losing three elections does not alter the standards of morality, which should remain constant like the Sun and the Moon,” Shah said.
The controversy traces back to 2013, when the UPA government attempted to override a Supreme Court judgment disqualifying convicted MPs and MLAs from holding office. To counter this, the government introduced an ordinance retaining provisions that allowed lawmakers to continue for three months despite conviction.
The move, largely perceived as a measure to protect ally Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case, backfired when Rahul Gandhi made a surprise appearance at a press conference in Delhi. He denounced the ordinance as “complete nonsense” and tore up a copy in public, compelling the Congress-led UPA to scrap it.
The episode remains one of the most dramatic moments of Rahul Gandhi’s political career and continues to be invoked by BJP leaders as evidence of inconsistency in his approach toward corruption and accountability.