Amid criticism from the ruling BJP, the Congress on Wednesday distanced itself from its Indian Overseas chairman Sam Pitroda’s racist remarks and termed it unfortunate and unacceptable.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (IANS photo )
Amid criticism from the ruling BJP, the Congress on Wednesday distanced itself from its Indian Overseas chairman Sam Pitroda’s racist remarks and termed it unfortunate and unacceptable.
“The analogies drawn by Mr Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India’s diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable,” Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a video message.
In a recent interview with ‘The Statesman’, Pitroda said, “We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside a few fights here and there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people on the east look like Chinese, people on the West look like Arab, people on the North look like white and maybe people on the South look like Africans… doesn’t matter. We are all brothers and sisters.”
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“We all respect different languages, religions, different looks, customs and food. That’s the India I believe in where everybody has a place,” he said.
It may be mentioned that the Indian Overseas Congress chairman last month had stirred a controversy over his remarks on “inheritance tax in US”.
“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million 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 was quoted as saying in an interview to a news agency.
Ptiroda had said his statement on inheritance tax in the US was “twisted” to divert attention from what “lies” Prime Minister Narendra Modi is spreading about the Congress manifesto.
The Congress then had said his views many times did not reflect the position of the party.
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