Congress MP Rahul Gandhi kicked up a row Tuesday 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)’.

Campaigning in Bihar’s Aurangabad, ahead of the Assembly election that begins Thursday, he said, “… 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 remaining 90 per cent – backward classes, Dalits, scheduled tribes, and other minorities – are nowhere to be seen,” he said, echoing calls for social justice and equal opportunities he has made over the past year, particularly over the opposition’s demand for a national caste census.

In that context, Gandhi had said a national caste census would identify the 90 per cent of Indians sitting ‘outside the system’ and take steps to protect their rights and constitutional guarantees.

“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.”

“If 90 per cent people don’t have participatory rights, the Constitution can’t be protected.”

This is, however, the first time he has mentioned the military in this context.

It is also not the first time he has made eyebrow-raising comments about the Army.

In August he was reprimanded by the Supreme Court over a comment – “Chinese troops are thrashing Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh” – made during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

The comment was in reference to the India-China military face-off in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector in December 2022. He 2,000 sq km of Indian territory had since been occupied by China, and he blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for the “surrender”.

But a bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AG Masih took strong exception to the remarks. “How did you get to know that 2,000 sq km of Indian land has been taken over by China? If you are a true Indian… you won’t say all of this” Justice Datta rebuked Gandhi.

And in May the Allahabad High Court, overruling Rahul Gandhi’s plea challenging a summons by a special court, said freedom of speech does not include the right to ‘defame’ the Army.

On that occasion Gandhi’s remarks were criticised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said his rival was trying to “weaken India and strengthen China”.

The Congress hit back saying the courts could not decide on ‘real Indians’.