'No Dalit or Adivasi in Miss India List, I Checked,' Says Rahul Gandhi; BJP Calls Remarks 'Divisive' And 'Full Of Falsehood'

Rahul Gandhi also said that even top anchors in the media are not from the 90 per cent. (Image: PTI)

spokesperson of BJP, Pradeep Bhandari, however, reacted to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, calling it "divisive" and "full of falsehood".

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday stated that after reviewing the list of former Miss India winners, he found no Dalit, tribal, or OBC representation among them. He made this comment during a ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ event, advocating for a nationwide “caste census.”

Gandhi emphasized that the country cannot function effectively without the participation of “90 percent” of its population.

“I have checked the list of Miss India, which did not have any Dalit, Adivasi (tribal) or OBC women. Some will talk about cricket or Bollywood. No one will show the cobbler or plumber. Even top anchors in the media are not from the 90 per cent,” he said.

“They will say Modiji embraced someone and we have become superpower. How have we become superpower when 90 per cent people has no participation?” he asked, attacking the mainstream media of the country.

spokesperson of BJP, Pradeep Bhandari, however, reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, calling it “divisive” and “full of falsehood”. In a post on X, the leader shared a video of a Dalit woman being crowned. Bhandari wrote: “Not long ago, just 2 years back, a tribal girl from Chhattisgarh, Miss Riya Ekka, won the Miss India title. Rahul Gandhi’s plan is divisive and it’s full of falsehood.”

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha also alleged that the BJP might say that he was trying to divide the country with his demand of a caste census.

“We want to now how many in institutions, corporates, Bollywood, Miss India are from the 90 per cent. I am only saying that 90 per cent did not have ‘bhagidari’ and this should be checked,” he said.