Rahul Gandhi faces heat for comparing Kejriwal & Soren's arrests with 'tribal CM' still in jail remark (WATCH)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday compared the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, highlighting that a "tribal Chief Minister" remains imprisoned. The Wayanad MP made these remarks during a session titled 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' in Panchkula, Haryana.

"It is clearly mentioned in our Constitution that every citizen in the country should be treated equally. So my simple question is, what is the participation of 90 percent of people? Whether it is media or bureaucracy, 90 per cent of people are not a part of it... it is as if they don't exist," Rahul Gandhi said.

"Two Chief Ministers were arrested. The Adivasi Chief Minister (Hemant Soren) is still in jail. He was arrested before and is still behind bars. The national media has forgotten him; it doesn't talk about him... Mayawati is corrupt but not Naveen Patnaik, Lalu Yadav is corrupt... if someone is tribal or Dalit, he is automatically framed," he added.

The Congress leader also reiterated that the system is heavily biased against the lower castes and emphasized his understanding of the system, noting that both his grandmother and father were prime ministers. He also mentioned that he used to visit the Prime Minister's residence when Manmohan Singh was in office.

"In the prime minister's house, when my grandmother and later father were PM and later Dr Manmohan Singh, I used to go, so I know the system from inside. And I am saying the system is aligned against lower castes in a major way (bhayankar tareeke sey) at every level," he said.

Also read: 'Shehzada has admitted...': PM Modi attacks Rahul Gandhi on system aligned against lower castes remark (WATCH)

He asserted that 90 percent of the country's population, including Dalits, OBCs, tribal communities, and minorities, lacks representation in the nation's narrative and power structure.

"How can it be that 90 per cent do not have merit? It cannot be so. So, there must be something lacking in the system. I found it. I dug out all the figures," he said.

"In the media, senior anchors, senior influencers, media owners, senior managers -- not even one is a Dalit, tribal or OBC. I did not find even one," he claimed.

Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in January this year in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam. He is currently in judicial custody and has not been able to secure any interim relief from the courts.

In contrast, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. He was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court until June 1.

Rahul Gandhi's comments questioning why 'tribal CM' Soren is still in jail has sparked a massive social media backlash, with several BJP supporters raising eyebrows over the Congress leader's remarks.

"He blames Hemant Soren's caste for not being granted bail while linking Arvind Kejriwal's release with him being a UC. He indeed is unhappy as Kejriwal took all his limelight, but this sets a dangerous divide into the minds of the society which might get influenced by Soros's puppet's rhetoric," said one user on X, formerly Twitter.

Another added, "I told you Kejriwal’s bail will hurt CONg & not BJP-This is because AAP & CONg are head to head in more seats than AAP & BJP Listen to RaGa firing at Kejriwal using Soren’s shoulder Wait till June 1 when Punj votes-they will be at each others throats."

"Told you one week earlier. Rahul Gandhi has finally spoken on Arvind Kejriwal. Rahul Gandhi is indeed not happy with Kejriwal getting bail, maybe because Kejriwal poses a threat to RaGa's authority over INDI Alliance. This is the unity in INDI Alliance, where 'leaders' want each other to rot in Jail," said a third user on the microblogging site.

Here's a look at some of the reactions to Rahul Gandhi's recent comments: