- By Aditya Jha
- Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:49 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bihar Polls: Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi, while campaigning for the Bihar Assembly election, sparked a row on Tuesday after claiming that the Indian Army is being controlled by the 10 per cent population (referring to the general castes). While addressing a rally in Aurangabad, Gandhi stated that apart from the Army, these caste groups also dominate the other key sectors of the country, including corporate, bureaucracy, and the judiciary. Rahul Gandhi has been vocal about social justice for the past few years and has also promised to breach the limitation of 50 per cent reservation.
Rahul Gandhi, while addressing the crowd, claimed that all the key sectors of the country are being dominated by the general castes. "Only 10 per cent of the country's population (i.e., the 'upper castes') get opportunities in corporate sectors, bureaucracy, and the judiciary...even the Army is under their control," the Congress leader stated. He further stated that the marginalised and oppressed caste groups have not got the proper representation in these sectors.
"The remaining 90 per cent - backward classes, Dalits, scheduled tribes, and other minorities - are nowhere to be seen," Rahul Gandhi asserted. The Congress MP also stated that a caste census will reveal the data, adding that the rights of the oppressed groups must be protected. "We want the data. How many Dalits, OBCs (Other Backward Classes), women, minorities... are there. We are trying to protect the Constitution through this demand for a caste census," the Congress leader stated.
"If 90 per cent people don't have participatory rights, the Constitution can't be protected," he added. The election in Bihar is set to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with the results to be announced on November 14. While the ruling NDA will try to repeat its government, the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan will try to make a comeback in the state after a decade.