Sam Pitroda Steps Down As Chief Of Indian Overseas Congress Amid Row Over 'Racist' Remarks; A Look At His Past Controversies

Sam Pitroda Resigns: Congress leader Sam Pitroda has stepped down as the chairman of the party's Indian Overseas wing, Congress General Secretary and Communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh informed on Wednesday. This came hours after Pitroda kicked off yet another political storm with his words, this time with a seemingly racist remark. While speaking in the context of diversity in India, Pitroda drew similarities between the physical appearances of people from various parts of the country and those hailing from places like China and Africa.

During an interview with 'The Statesman', Pitroda stated, "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."

The Congress was quick to distance itself from Pitroda's remark, terming it "unfortunate and unacceptable". Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Jairam Ramesh said, "The Indian National Congress completely dissociates itself from such analogies." The clarification from Congress came as the party still reeled under the damage caused by Pitroda's earlier remark on inheritance tax.

Sam Pitroda: Past Controversies

- Inheritance Tax: In April this year, a controversy erupted after Pitroda spoke about the concept of an inheritance tax. "In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by the government. That's an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair," Pitroda said.

"In India, you don't have that. If somebody is worth 10 billion and he dies, his children get 10 billion and the public gets nothing...So these are the kinds of issues people will have to debate and discuss. When we talk about redistributing wealth, we are talking about new policies and new programs that are in the interest of the people and not in the interest of the super-rich only," he added. Following the eruption of a controversy around his words, Pitroda said he had only cited the inheritance tax as an example.

- 2023 Remarks On Ram Mandir: In June 2023, Pitroda stoked a controversy amid the anticipation for the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Temple by saying that the religious structure would not address key issues such as unemployment, inflation, and education.

- Pulwama Attack: Pitroda raised questions on the efficacy of India's cross-border air raids on Pakistan's Balakot in the aftermath of the 2019 Pulwama attack. The suicide attack had claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

- 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Remarks: A dismissive remark by Pitroda in response to a question on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots ignited a controversy in May 2019. The Congress leader had responded with "hua toh hua" before deflecting the discussion towards the performance of the incumbent NDA government in the Centre. 

(With inputs from agencies)