TNR Desk
Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) chief Sam Pitroda has once again ignited a controversy with racially charged comments, likening people in India’s East to Chinese and those in the South to Africans. The remarks have once again thrust Congress into the spotlight, providing ammunition to the BJP to counter the Congress amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India.
Pitroda, a close associate of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, had earlier stirred a controversy with his remarks on inheritance tax.
During an interview with The Statesman, Pitroda highlighted how India had developed itself as a shining example of democracy in the world. He said that the people of the country had “survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people are living together”. “We could hold together a country as diverse as India — where people on the East look like Chinese, people on the West look like Arabs, people on the North look like maybe Whites and people in South India look like Africans. It doesn’t matter. We are all brothers and sisters,” he said.
In response to Pitroda’s statements, Chief Ministers from BJP-governed states in the Northeast, including Assam and Manipur, condemned the Congress leader and demanded an apology. Manipur CM N Biren Singh accused Congress of harboring a divisive agenda, attributing it to the unrest in the state, which has witnessed significant violence and displacement.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma emphasised India’s diverse yet unified identity, rejecting Pitroda’s assertions. Similarly, Biren Singh denounced the remarks as unfortunate and nonsensical, urging the Congress to retract these.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya lambasted Pitroda’s comments, attributing these to a broader mindset within the Congress. Rijiju expressed anger, labeling the remarks as indicative of Congress’s foreign-inspired agenda. Surya likened Congress to a divisive force, drawing parallels to colonial attitudes.
Furthermore, BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan Sam condemned the Congress, labeling Pitroda as the ‘Shakuni’ of the party, and accused Congress of fostering a dangerous and divisive ideology.
