Patna: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday came down heavily on 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.” “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.