Several Opposition leaders and a BJP ally alleged Tuesday that the Army was using caste as a factor for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme, a charge swiftly rejected by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as a “rumour”.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and AAP’s Sanjay Singh launched a sharp attack on the government while JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha and BJP MP Varun Gandhi also tweeted a purported document linked to the recruitment exercise.