Sam Pitroda 'Racist' Remark Row: Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Wednesday stepped down as the chairman of the party's Indian Overseas wing hours after a controversy erupted over a remark of his wherein he drew similarities between the physical appearances of people from various parts of the country and those hailing from places like China and Africa. Pitroda's contentious words placed the Congress party at the crosshairs of the country's ruling BJP amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha election. The saffron party termed Pitroda's comments "racist", with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also launching a scathing attack against the Congress.
Though the Congress was quick to disassociate itself from Pitroda's remarks by describing his words as "unfortunate and unacceptable", the controversy had already snowballed by then with criticism pouring in from various sections of the society. The Chief Ministers of four NDA-ruled northeastern states namely Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya also slammed the Congress over Pitroda's seemingly racist statement.
Sam Pitroda 'Racist' Remark Row: Explained
During an interview with 'The Statesman', Pitroda had said, "We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside few fights here and there. 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 the North look like white and maybe people in the South look like Africans."
Pitroda's controversial interview surfaced on social media as his party still reeled under the damage caused by the leader's earlier statement on inheritance tax. The 81-year-old veteran leader has been closely associated with Congress scion Rahul Gandhi and has also served as an advisor to deceased former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the past.
Sam Pitroda 'Racist' Remark Row | Highlights
• While addressing an election rally in Telangana's Warangal, PM Narendra Modi tore into the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, whom he refers to as 'Shehzada' as part of the BJP's election rhetoric, over Sam Pitroda's 'racist' remark. Describing Pitroda as Rahul's "philosophical guide", "uncle". He further dared Rahul to address the controversy, saying, "Shehzade aapko jawaab dena padega".
• "I got to know that there is an uncle in America who is the philosophical guide of 'Shehzada' and just like the third umpire in cricket this 'Shehzada' takes advice from the third umpire. This philosophical uncle said that those who have black skin are from Africa. This means that you are abusing several people in the country on the basis of their skin colour," PM Modi was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
• Further lambasting the Congress, PM Modi said that the reason why the party opposed the candidature of President Droupadi Murmu for her present post is now clear. The Prime Minister alleged that the Congress's opposition to President Murmu's candidature was borne out of the fact that her "skin colour is dark".
• Announcing Pitroda's resignation from his post as the Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary and Communications in-charge, said, "Mr Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his decision."
• Before Pitroda's announcement was announced by his party, Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed the Congress party saying, "What has (Congress leader) Jairam Ramesh tweeted after such a grave insult to Northeast people? He just said they don't support it. But what about the next step? Why are you not disowning him? Why are you not throwing him out of his post? In what capacity was he speaking?" PTI quoted Sarma as saying. He was referring to Jairam Ramesh's statement distancing the Congress party from Pitroda's statement.
• The Chief Minister of BJP-ruled Tripura, Manik Saha, also slammed the Congress party and the INDIA Opposition alliance over Pitroda's remark. "Although we live in the North East, our thinking is completely Indian. Similarly, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Ahmedabad to Arunachal, all the citizens of the country have one identity as Indian. But blinded by the greed of power, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's mentor Sam Pitroda and the discriminatory INDI Alliance mentality has gone so low that they are now judging the people of India by their skin color and face. I strongly condemn this disgusting mentality," Saha posted on X (formerly Twitter).
• Meanwhile, reacting to the controversy, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said, "We are proud Indians. He should apologise to everyone for the racist remarks. Some elements are trying to divide us but we won't allow them do so."
• Speaking on Pitroda's contentious words, Meghalaya CM and NPP supremo Conrad K Sangma said, "Being from the North East, we have seen and experienced that (discrimination) in the past decades, different kinds of racial discrimination against the NE people. We had hope that we had gone beyond that now."
(With inputs from agencies)