Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said a new class of “compulsive contrarians” had emerged who have no qualms in “manufacturing falsehood” and who believed that the government could do no good.

“There are some in the political system who thought that they were born to rule,” Jaitley said in a Facebook post. “There are those who had managed to penetrate into positions of influence irrespective of the government in power. Some who were part of the ideological left and the ultra-left obviously found the new government wholly unacceptable.”

He said the “compulsive contrarians” could concoct arguments even if they went against the general interest of the country. “They could masquerade corruption as crusade,” he added.

Jaitley cited a list that he said were examples when the “compulsive contrarians” have adopted double standards. He elaborated on his views on the Rafale defence deal, Justice Loya case, the Central Bureau of Investigation spat, the impasse between the Reserve Bank of India and the Centre.

“They picked holes in the proposal to give 10% reservation in education and public jobs to the poor, compelling me to comment in the Lok Sabha that this was the first illustration in history where the Communists were obstructing a step taken to support the poor,” Jaitley wrote. “Steps taken against black money were described as ‘tax terrorism’. Aadhaar which became an instrument for saving money to ensure that it is fruitfully spent for the poor was questioned on the ground of violating personal liberty.”