Don’t drag army into politics, defence minister Rajnath Singh warns Rahul Gandhi

PATNA: Defence government minister Rajnath Singh on midweek came land hard on u.s. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks during an election meeting demanding reservation in the armed forces, cautioning him to “not drag the Army into politics.”“Do not drag the Army into politics. Soldiers have only one religion, that is ‘Sainya Dharma’. Whenever the nation faced a crisis, its soldiers had raised India’s head high through bravery and valour,” Singh said at an election rally in Bihar.Singh, who addressed rallies in Banka and Jamui in the poll-bound state on Wednesday, also alleged that the leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha was “trying to create anarchy” in the country by “demanding reservation in the armed forces”.Gandhi during an election campaign rally in Bihar’s Kutumba on Tuesday had claimed that the Indian Army is “under the control of 10% of the country’s population,” apparently referring to the dominance of upper castes in the institution.Supporting the reservation system, the defence minister said, “There should be a reservation. We (the BJP) are also supporters of reservations. We have given reservations to the poor. But about the Army?... Our army soldiers have only one religion. That religion is ‘Sainya Dharma’. There is no other religion besides this. Don’t drag our army into politics. Whenever this country has faced a crisis, our soldiers have raised India’s head high by demonstrating their bravery and valour.”“This politics of caste, sect, and religion has caused great harm to the country, and our thinking is that all sections of society should be uplifted. We aim to include all sections of society. We do not want to discriminate based on caste, sect, or religion. The sages and people of our country have never even thought about this,” Singh added.He also mentioned Operation Sindoor and said all the major terrorist hideouts were wiped during the military operation, and added that the operation is not over yet, but is just postponed.Gandhi in his speech had highlighted the issue of economic inequality in India, stating that despite 90% of the population belonging to marginalised communities, including Dalits, Mahadalits, backward classes, and minorities, they are underrepresented in corporate India, bureaucracy, judiciary, and other key institutions.“All the bank’s money goes to them, they get all the jobs, and they even dominate most positions in bureaucracy. They control everything. Look at the judiciary. They handle everything there, too. They even have control over the army. And you will not find 90% of the population anywhere,” Rahul Gandhi said.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s alliance partner LJP (RV)’s leader and Union minister Chirag Paswan called the remarks “shameful, unfortunate”Paswan emphasised that the Army should not be viewed through the lens of caste or religion, as it is an institution that serves the nation as a whole. He said that dividing the Army on the basis of caste is not good and such remarks “insult the Army”.Speaking to reporters in Patna, he said, “The army is a subject that should not be politicised. He has insulted the soldiers. This is not only shameful but also unfortunate. If this is LoP’s thinking, who is viewing our army in terms of caste and religion, what could be more unfortunate than this.”Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain alleged that Rahul Gandhi was “speaking the language of an urban naxal.”“Rahul Gandhi is speaking the language of an urban naxal. What kind of language is he speaking? He has not spared even the Army. Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation. By doing this, he has lowered the Army’s morale. The public will never forgive him for this,” Hussain said.