Congress leader Sam Pitroda said that the people of the East look like Chinese and South Indians look like Africans. The Congress, however, distanced itself from Pitroda’s comments, calling them unfortunate and unacceptable.
New Delhi, Controversy erupted on Wednesday over another comment by Congress leader Sam Pitroda in which he said that “people from the East look like Chinese and South Indians look like Africans”. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at Pitroda over his “racist” comments, claiming they exposed the opposition party’s “divisive” politics. The Congress, however, distanced itself from Pitroda’s comments, calling them unfortunate and unacceptable.
The party said it “completely disassociates” itself from these comments. Pitroda, the head of the Indian Overseas Congress, said in a podcast, “We have been living in a very pleasant environment for 75 years, where people can live together except for a few fights.”
“We can keep a diverse country like India united,” Pitroda said in the interview, which was widely circulated on social media. While the people of the East look like Chinese, the people of the West look like Arabs, the people of the North look like whites and the South Indians look like Africans.” He said, “It doesn’t matter, we are all sisters and brothers. In India, people of different regions have different customs, food, religion, language, but the people of India respect each other.
Dissociating himself from Pitroda’s comments, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on ‘X’, “The analogies given by Sam Pitroda to India’s diversity are extremely wrong and unacceptable. The Indian National Congress completely disassociates itself from these analogies.” The BJP targeted the Congress over Pitroda’s remarks and said that as the Lok Sabha elections are progressing, the opposition party’s facade is falling. The party claimed that Pitroda’s “racist” comments exposed Congress’s attempt to divide the country on the basis of race, religion and caste.
BJP leaders Rajiv Chandrashekhar and Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed that Pitroda has exposed the idea of India that senior Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi believe in. Chandrashekhar said Pitroda has been an “adviser” to Rahul Gandhi and Gandhi has often criticized Indian democracy and the country’s institutions during his foreign trips. Trivedi said the ongoing Lok Sabha elections have now become a battle between people with foreign mentality and a “self-reliant” and self-respecting India.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on ‘X’, “For us, all Indians look like Indians, Congress insists on classifying them on the basis of Chinese, Arab, White and African. “Only a party with a colonial mindset like Congress can indulge in such condemnable racism.”
Thakur said, “After failing to create division between the North and South, the Congress now seems bent on creating a caste dispute. It is only a matter of time that the prince, following in the footsteps of his mentor, will support this divisive strategy.”
In a podcast interview with a media house, Pitroda said, “Being a Gujarati, I love dosa, I love idli. This is my food, it’s not just South Indian food anymore. This is the India I believe in, where there is a place for everyone and everyone compromises a little… The idea of India, which is rooted in democracy, liberty, fraternity, is reflected in the Ram Mandir and Ram Navami. He is being challenged by BJP and the Prime Minister is going to visit temples again and again and he is not talking as a national leader but as a BJP leader.” He said, “The idea focuses on Ram temple, God, history, heritage, Lord Hanuman, Bajrang Dal and all kinds of issues. I respect his opinion.”
Pitroda said, “There is another group which says that our founders fought against the British Raj not for a Hindu nation, but for a secular nation. Pakistan decided to create a nation based on religion and see what happened to them. We are the best example of democracy in the world.”
Earlier, Congress leader Pitroda had created a controversy by talking about inheritance tax, which the BJP made an election issue. Pitroda had mentioned ‘inheritance tax in the US’ while talking about the issue of ‘re-distribution of wealth’ in the Congress manifesto. After this BJP started targeting Congress. (agency)
