Sam Pitroda
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Sam Pitroda has done it again and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to pounce on it!
Before the dust settled over his remarks on 'inheritance tax' that the BJP used against Congress, the technocrat-turned-politician has ignited another controversy with “racist” remarks as he compared north-east people with Chinese, south with Africans, west with Arabs and north Indians with white while trying to describe India's diversity.
Congress “completely dissociated” itself from Pitroda's remarks for the second time in a month, with General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh saying the analogies drawn by him to illustrate India's diversity are “most unfortunate and unacceptable”.
During a rally in Telangana, an “angry” Modi said that he can tolerate if someone abuses him but the “philosopher of Shehzada” (Rahul Gandhi) has given such a big abuse that has filled him with anger. “Will the potential of Indians be decided on the skin colour? Who gave this right to Shehzada? The people dancing with the Constitution on their head are insulting my countrymen on the basis of their skin colour.”
At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi pegged it at the leadership of the Congress, which is "foreign", and asked whether it would now start looking at the origin of Indians in foreign land. He said, "Congress' mindset is clear, their concept is 'Bharat ko andar se todo, bahar se jodo (divide India from inside)."
In an interaction with a newspaper, whose video went viral on social media, Pitroda has said, "we are a shining example of democracy in the world. We could hold a country together as diverse as India where people in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arab, people in North look like maybe white and people in South look like African. It doesn't matter, we are all brothers and sisters."
He added, "we all respect different languages, different religions, customs and food. That's the India that I believe in, where everybody has a place and everybody compromises a little bit."
This is not the first time that Pitroda, the Chairperson of Indian Overseas Congress and a close confidante of Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi, had landed the party in this Lok Sabha elections in trouble. His comments on inheritance tax in the United States led to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP accusing the Congress of trying to redistribute wealth, a charge denied by the Congress.
During 2019 Lok Sabha polls too, Pitroda's comments on Balakot surgical strike and wealth tax had created trouble for Congress.
His latest remarks immediately attracted the BJP's attention with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma posting on 'X', "Sam bhai, I am from the North East and I look like an Indian. We are a diverse country - we may look different but we are all one. 'Hamare desh ke bare mein thoda to samajh lo!' (Please try to understand something about our country."
Seeking his and Congress' public apology, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said he condemned Pitroda's "racist comment against the people of the north-east" and "such a mockery on India's diversity is highly unacceptable". He added, "Congress has always tried to divide India with their Divide and Rule policy. But they must know that NE (north-east) has been a part of India and will always be."
Senior BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the comparison drawn by Pitroda further illustrates that he has "no understanding" of the country or its culture. "It is clear that he is a failure. He doesn't understand the country. He is Rahul Gandhi's advisor. I can now understand why Rahul Gandhi speaks nonsense. This is the frustration of defeat. They neither understand India nor its heritage," he said.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “I am not surprised, but I am very angry. This is not a personal opinion of Sam Pitroda. Congress takes all ideas from him, so Congress should not come out and say this is his personal comment. Rahul Gandhi and Pitroda had foreign thinking, they wanted to end our culture.”