A day ahead of the first phase of the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh slammed Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi for his claim that 10% of the country’s population controls the Indian armed forces.
Addressing a public rally in Banka, Bihar, Singh warned Gandhi not to “draw the army into politics”, as per an ANI report, and also alleged that the LS LoP was trying to create anarchy in the country by “demanding a reserve in the armed forces”, according to ANI.
Gandhi’s comment is seen as an apparent assertion of upper caste dominance in the armed forces.
In his speech, Singh also said that Indian soldiers have only one religion and that is “Sainya Dharma”.
Disagreeing with the view that there should be reservation in appointments to the armed forces, Singh said, “There should be reservation. We (BJP) are also supporters of reservation. We have given reservation to the poor. But about the army?… Soldiers of our army have only one religion. That religion is ‘Sainya Dharma’. Soldiers of our country face no other crisis than this crisis, Don’ is to face our politics. He held India’s head high by proving his bravery and bravery.”
In the election campaign, Gandhi highlighted economic inequality in India, arguing that while 90% of the country belongs to people from marginalized communities, these people have little representation in corporate India, the judiciary, the bureaucracy and other such important institutions.
“All the money of the bank goes to them, they get all the jobs, and they even dominate most of the positions in the bureaucracy. They control everything. Look at the judiciary. They also solve everything there. They even have control over the army. And 90% of the population is nowhere to be found,” ANI quoted Gandhi.
Besides, Singh also took a dig at the Lok Sabha LoP for his fishing bid during the campaign in Bihar after a video of Singh diving with locals in a pond went viral.
Commenting on Gandhi’s video, Singh said the Congress president was “left with no option but to jump into the pond”.
Rajnath Singh on Operation Sindoor
Singh also reiterated his earlier comments at the rally that Operation Sindoor would not be stopped. He claimed to launch another such operation in the future.
“Our Sindoor operation is not over yet. It has been shelved for now. We will launch another operation and destroy them… India is no longer known as a weak country in the world. India is now known as a powerful country in the world. India’s reputation in the international arena has increased,” Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.
