Sam Pitroda: Congress Leader Sam Pitroda resigned from his position as Indian Overseas Congress Chairman, and the party accepted his resignation. Jairam Ramesh, the leader of the Congress, announced on X that Sam Pitroda had chosen to step down from the important position “of his own accord”.
Controversial Remarks
Pitroda faced criticism for his divisive comment that Indians in the East resembled Chinese people, while those in the South looked like African people. “We could hold together a country as diverse as India — where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people on North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africans. It doesn’t matter. We are all brothers and sisters,” Pitroda said during an interview with The Statesman.
Congress Condemnation
Pitroda’s comments were promptly criticized by the Congress, which called them “unacceptable”. “The analogies drawn by Mr Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India’s diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable. The Indian National Congress completely dissociates itself from these analogies,” Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. In response to Pitroda’s comments, the BJP also attacked the Congress, calling them “racist and divisive”.
Union Minister’s Accusations
Union Minister Giriraj Singh comments on Sam Pitroda’s resignation from the Indian Overseas Congress chairmanship. He said, “Congress took over the work of dividing the country from the British. First, they tried to divide Hindu-Muslims, then South-North and now they want to divide people on their skin colour.”
He added, “No one is going to tolerate such abuse..Congress is only doing the work of dividing. I want to ask Congress if the resignation of Sam Pitroda is going to erase the stain they have put on the image of the country. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the people of the country…”
Smriti Irani’s Critique
Taking Shots on Congress, Union Minister Smriti Irani says, “Today, Sam Pitroda unveiled the disgusting face of the Gandhi family. Till now, the Gandhi family has not condemned it (statement by Sam Pitroda). The Gandhi family has not broken ties with him yet.”
Renuka Chowdhury’s Defense
Mildly Defending Sam Pitroda Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury said, “We highly respect Sam Pitroda but making comments during the country’s elections by sitting in a different country does not make sense and he has no right to do so.”
He added, “This is unfortunate but he has not said this to hurt anyone. It is regretful… We have nothing to do with his statement and he has no role to play in the elections… We South Indians are not fools. We are educated intellectual people. We know who’s doing unnecessary drama and we know how much importance Sam Pitroda’s comment deserves.”
