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Sam Pitroda back as Indian Overseas Congress chief, days after 'racist comment' exit
Sam Pitroda re-appointed as chairman of Indian Overseas Congress after controversial remarks on race and ethnicity led to resignation.
The Congress has re-appointed Sam Pitroda as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, month after he resigned following controversial remarks on race and ethnicity.
Pitroda’s comments had prompted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to label the Congress party as "racist" during the Lok Sabha election campaign.
During a podcast, Sam Pitroda described the physical appearances of Indians using ethnic and racial identities. He 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 as diverse as India together. People in the east look like the Chinese, people in the west look like the Arabs, people in the north look like, maybe, white and people in the south look like Africa." He added, "It does not matter. All of us are brothers and sisters. We respect different languages, different religions, different customs, different food."
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The BJP condemned the remarks, calling them racist, and launched a strong attack on the Congress party, leading to Pitroda's resignation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the Congress and Pitroda, referring to Rahul Gandhi as "shehzada" (prince) and Pitroda as his "guru" (mentor).
Modi said, "The shehzada of Congress set out with 'Mohabbat ki Dukaan' but the board of the shop is no longer visible and he is busy dividing the society... supporters of 'tukde tukde gang' are talking of dividing the country into pieces. His advisor, sitting in America, says that the people of South India are Africans. He sees the people of Telangana as Africans... The Congress decides who is Indian and who is African based on the color of our skin."
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Sam Pitroda is a close associate of the Gandhi family and once held key positions in the Congress establishment, particularly during Rajiv Gandhi era.
In April, Pitroda had stirred another controversy by advocating for an inheritance tax law in India. The Congress party then distanced itself from his comments, saying that his views do not always reflect the party’s position. The BJP extensively used his remarks to target the Congress in political rallies across the country during Lok Sabha campaign.
