Attacking the Congress over the reinstatement of Sam Pitroda as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday shared a clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interview during the Lok Sabha poll campaign, in which he had predicted Sam Pitroda’s return to his post once elections conclude.
The Congress on Wednesday reappointed US-based Sam Pitroda as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. This move followed weeks after he resigned from the post due to his use of racial analogy to highlight India’s diversity during the poll campaign put his party on the defensive.
The ruling BJP had launched a sharp attack on the Congress, forcing the party to distance itself from its experienced office-bearer, who later resigned to defuse the crisis. Modi had said in an interview, shared by the BJP on Wednesday, that the Congress deliberately spreads such theories through leaders like Pitroda. “They have made their US-based guru resign now. They will bring him back after a few days,” the Prime Minister had said.
Taking a swipe at the Congress for the move, the BJP posted on X: “As PM Modi anticipated, the Congress’ sacking of Sam Pitroda was merely an election gimmick. He has now been reinstated as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, exposing the hypocrisy of the Congress party and its leaders.”
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also mocked the Congress, reiterating the racist charges against Pitroda. Sharing a post on X, the Union Minister wrote: “Prime Minister Modi ji has already said! Rahul Gandhi Ji’s adviser who said, South Indians look like Africans, North-Eastern people look Chinese, West Indians are like Arabs & North Indian are whites, is reinstated. We are not surprised as PM @narendramodi ji had predicted.”
What Sam Pitroda had said?
During the Lok Sabha elections, Sam Pitroda sparked a major controversy with his remarks about the physical appearance of Indians. In an interview, Pitroda said people in the country have “survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together leaving a few fights here and there”. “We could hold together a country as diverse as India — where people on the East look like Chinese, people on the West look like Arab, people on North look like maybe White and people in the South look like Africans. It doesn’t matter. We are all brothers and sisters,” said Pitroda during the interview.
These remarks triggered a backlash, with the BJP calling them shocking, despicable, and disgusting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also slammed Pitroda during an election rally in Telangana for “abusing several people of the country on the basis of their skin color.”
Prior to this, Pitroda’s mention of inheritance tax in the United States while discussing the Congress’ Lok Sabha poll manifesto provided the BJP with a strong argument to accuse the opposition party of targeting citizens’ assets as part of its “redistribution of wealth” policy.
After reappointing Sam Pitroda, the Congress issued a statement saying Pitroda had clarified the context of his controversial remarks. “During the recent election campaign, Sam Pitroda made some statements and comments that were totally unacceptable to the Indian National Congress. By mutual consent, he stepped down as Chairman of the Overseas Indian Congress.”
“Subsequently he clarified the context in which statements were made and how they were later distorted by the Modi campaign. The Congress President has reappointed him on the assurance that he will not in future leave room for such controversies to arise,” Ramesh said in a post on X.