Rahul Gandhi's ‘Army controlled by 10%' remark sparks political firestorm ahead of Bihar polls: 'Rhetoric hit a new low’

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi kicked up a political row after he said the Army is "under the control of 10 per cent of the country's population", referring to the so-called upper castes, on Tuesday, the last day of campaigning for phase one elections scheduled on 6 November.

“Take out the list of the 500 biggest companies, and search for Dalits, Extremely Backward Classes, Mahadalits, minorities, Adivasis in them. You will not find anyone. You won't find a single one. All of them come from the 10% population,” Rahul Gandhi said, referring to key leadership positions at large.

“All the bank wealth goes to them. All the jobs go to them. They get a place in the bureaucracy,” Gandhi told the crowd at the rally at Kutumba in Bihar's Aurangabad.

Bihar is voting in two phases – 6 and 11 November. Results will be announced on 14 November. “Look at the judiciary. They get everything there too. They have control over the army,” the Congress MP from Rae Bareli said.

"The remaining 90 per cent - backward classes, Dalits, scheduled tribes, and other minorities - are nowhere to be seen," Gandhi said, echoing calls for social justice and equal opportunities he has been making over the past year.

The Congress is contesting 61 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly.

Rahul Gandhi has been vocal about his political pitch for “social justice” and “anti-caste” over the last few years, more so in Bihar, where the Congress is an alliance partner with the RJD in the Mahagathbandhan.

This is the first time Rahul Gandhi has mentioned the military in the context of his demand for a caste census.

How did the BJP respond?

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders termed Rahul Gandhi's argument dangerous.

“Rahul Gandhi now wants to divide even our Armed Forces on caste lines!” BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari posted on X. “The Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force stand for Nation First, not caste, creed or class. Rahul Gandhi hates our brave armed forces! Rahul Gandhi is Anti-Indian Army!” he said

Another BJP leader, Andhra Pradesh minister Satya Kumar Yadav, also slammed Gandhi for his remarks. “Rahul Gandhi’s rhetoric has hit a new low. By dragging the Indian Army into his casteist tirade, he has insulted one of the world’s most professional and apolitical forces, where soldiers serve not by caste, but by the tricolour,” he said.

(With agency inputs)