Sam Pitroda, the former chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, has made the decision to step down from his position. This decision has been accepted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, as announced by party general secretary Jairam Ramesh. It is important to note that this decision was made voluntarily by Pitroda himself. The reason behind this decision stems from a racist comment made by Pitroda regarding the appearance of Indians from different regions of the country. This comment sparked a major political controversy during the ongoing Lok Sabha election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemning Pitroda for his statement.
It is worth mentioning that Sam Pitroda, who currently resides in the United States, previously served as an advisor to Rajiv Gandhi when he was the prime minister. Following the victory of the UPA in the 2004 election, Pitroda was invited by then prime minister Manmohan Singh to lead the National Knowledge Commission of India. In 2009, he assumed the role of advisor to Manmohan Singh on public information infrastructure.
While Pitroda has been involved in controversies in the past, this particular incident has caused significant damage to his reputation. The Congress party has distanced itself from his statement, deeming it unfortunate.
What Sam Pitroda said?
During an interview, Sam Pitroda discussed how Indians have coexisted harmoniously over the past 75 years under the leadership of the Congress party, which has managed to unite the country despite its vast diversity. He went on to highlight the distinctions among regions, noting that individuals in the east resemble the Chinese, those in the west resemble Arabs, and so forth. Pitroda emphasized the importance of unity, stating, “We have successfully maintained the unity of a diverse nation like India, where individuals in the east may resemble the Chinese, those in the west may resemble Arabs, those in the north may appear white, and those in the south may resemble Africans. However, these differences are inconsequential as we are all brothers and sisters. We embrace various languages, religions, customs, and cuisines.”
Congress expressed its disappointment over Sam Pitroda’s remark, deeming it regrettable.
Jairam Ramesh expressed strong disapproval towards the analogies used by Sam Pitroda in a podcast to emphasize India’s diversity, deeming them as unacceptable and unfortunate. He also stated that the Indian National Congress does not support these analogies.
Rahul Gandhi’s uncle Sam: PM Modi mentions president Murmu
During his rallies in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi expressed his displeasure regarding the remarks made by Rahul Gandhi’s associate, Sam, about the skin color of Indians. PM Modi referred to President Droupadi Murmu and highlighted that the Congress party opposed her candidacy for the presidency due to their perception of her as an African, solely based on her dark complexion. PM Modi questioned whether the chief ministers of Telangana and Karnataka from the Congress party would agree with this analogy, and also pondered whether the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, would sever ties between DMK and Congress.
Statement following inheritance tax discussion
Sam Pitroda made a controversial racial comment before the controversy surrounding his inheritance tax remark had a chance to fade away. During a discussion on the Congress manifesto, he brought up the topic of inheritance tax in the United States. According to Pitroda, in America, there is a tax on inheritance. If someone has wealth worth 100 million USD and passes away, they can only pass on 45 per cent of it to their children, while the remaining 55 per cent goes to the government. Pitroda found this law interesting, as it emphasizes the idea that wealth accumulated in one’s generation should not all be passed on to the next, but rather shared with the public. He described this concept as fair.