Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday sparked controversy by claiming that the Indian Army is “under the control of 10 per cent of the country’s population” during an election rally in Bihar’s Kutumba ahead of assembly elections starting on Thursday. He made this claim in the context of upper castes. Addressing a public meeting, Gandhi said that if you look carefully, 90 percent of the country’s population belongs to Dalit, Mahadalit, backward, extremely backward or minority communities. 90 percent of the people come from the most backward and tribal sections of the society.
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Rahul Gandhi further said that if you take out the list of 500 largest companies of India, you will not find anyone from backward or Dalit communities there, they all come from the top 10 percent. All jobs go to them. They have control over the armed forces. You will not find the remaining 90 percent of the population represented anywhere. Rahul Gandhi said, “We want an India in which there is space for 90 percent of the country’s population, where people can live with dignity and happiness. Congress has always fought for the backward people.”
Responding to his comment, BJP leader Suresh Nakhua said, “Rahul Gandhi is now finding a caste in the armed forces and says 10% people control it. In his hatred towards Prime Minister Modi, he has already crossed the limits of hating India.” This is not the first time that he has made any objectionable comment about the army. In August, he was reprimanded by the Supreme Court over remarks he made during his Bharat Jodo visit – “Chinese soldiers are beating Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh” –.
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The Congress MP had claimed that the Chinese Army has occupied 2,000 square kilometers of Indian territory and is “beating” Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. Following these statements, a retired defense officer from Lucknow had filed a defamation suit, alleging that these comments had insulted the Indian Army and tarnished its image. The Allahabad High Court had initially refused to dismiss the complaint, after which Gandhi appealed to the Supreme Court.