India, Nov. 4 -- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday stirred a political storm after claiming that the Indian Army is "under the control of 10 percent of the country's population", a reference widely interpreted as targeting so-called upper castes.

Speaking at an election rally in Aurangabad, Bihar, ahead of the Assembly polls beginning Thursday, Gandhi said, "Only 10 percent of the country's population, 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 minorities- are nowhere to be seen," he said.

Gandhi framed the remark within his ongoing call for a national caste census, argu...