Rahul Gandhi Draws Flak for Claiming “10% Control the Army”

• Rahul Gandhi said 10% of India’s population, mostly upper castes, control top positions including in the Army.
• Made the remarks during a public meeting in Bihar’s Kutumba.
• BJP slammed him for “trying to divide the Army on caste lines.”
• The Congress leader has faced earlier controversies over comments on the Army and China.

GG News Bureau
Patna, 5th Nov: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday sparked a major political storm after alleging that the Indian Army was “under the control of 10 per cent of the country’s population,” apparently referring to upper-caste groups.

Addressing a public meeting in Bihar’s Kutumba, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that 90 per cent of India’s population — comprising Dalits, Mahadalits, backward, extremely backward, tribal and minority communities — remain underrepresented in positions of power across sectors.

“Around 90 per cent of the population comes from Dalit, Mahadalit, backward, extremely backward, tribal and minority communities. Yet, if you look at the top 500 companies, judiciary, and government institutions, leadership positions are largely occupied by people from the remaining 10 per cent. They even control the Army,” he said.

Reacting sharply, BJP spokesperson Sanju Verma accused Gandhi of attempting to “polarize the Army on caste lines.” In a post on X, she wrote, “Rahul Gandhi is shamelessly devious and deviously shameless too. Listening to him leaves no doubt that this failed, forever-in-waiting PM is trying desperately to divide the Army on caste lines. Disgraceful.”

This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has stirred controversy over his remarks about the armed forces. Earlier, in August, the Supreme Court had reprimanded him for his comments about the clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). During his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi had alleged that “Chinese troops are thrashing Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.”