Less than two months after Sam Pitroda resigned over his divisive comments about India’s diversity, the Congress has hired him again as the head of its overseas unit. Congress General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal announced the reinstatement, which is a major move by party head Mallikarjun Kharge. Despite being at the center of several scandals, Pitroda is a seasoned technocrat and a close friend of the Gandhi family. His knowledge and connections appear to be crucial to Congress’s plan.
Sam Pitroda Chose To Resign
Pitroda resigned initially on May 8, citing a choice made “on his own accord,” according to the party. After his polarizing remarks on inheritance tax, which put the party in a challenging position during the pivotal stages of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, this was widely seen as a damage control tactic.
Pitroda caused a political uproar in early May when he made remarks on India’s regional diversity in an interview with The Statesman. We hold a nation as different as India together, with people who appear Chinese in the east, Arabs in the west, white people in the north, and Africans in the south. Not important. Pitroda said, “We are all brothers and sisters.” Many people criticized these comments since they were perceived as being culturally insensitive.
PM Modi Leverages Pitroda’s Remarks In Elections
During his election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi capitalized on Sam Pitroda’s remarks, claiming that they reflected the sentiment of the Congress party. During a rally, Prime Minister Modi called Pitroda Rahul Gandhi’s “philosophical guide” and attacked the Congress for supposedly attempting to unseat Droupadi Murmu, the tribal chief.
PM Modi said, “Today I found out why the Congress was trying so hard to defeat Droupadi Murmu, daughter of a tribal. Today I got to know that Shehzade’s [Rahul Gandhi] uncle lives in America and that this uncle is his philosophical guide who has exposed his secret. He has 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 color.”
The Controversial Statements By Sam Pitroda
Sam Pitroda’s earlier remarks have generated a great deal of controversy as well. He received criticism for saying that the middle class should pay more taxes in order to provide a minimum income for impoverished households and for advising them not to be “selfish” ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had to clarify that if Congress were to retake power, there would be no new tax burden on the middle class as a result of the rift this statement provoked inside the party.
Moreover, Sam Pitroda also received harsh criticism for his remarks regarding the airstrikes in Balakot. He objected to the Indian Air Force’s strike in Pakistan, claiming that Mumbai had also been attacked. At that point, we could have responded by sending our planes. However, that’s not the right strategy. naive to think that all citizens of that country are to blame simply because some individuals came here and attacked.”
Pitroda’s statements regarding the 1984 anti-Sikh riots heightened the controversy surrounding the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Furthermore, Sam Pitroda refuted the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) allegation that Rajiv Gandhi gave the orders for the riots, saying, “Ab kya hai ’84 ka? We have five rooms, so let’s see what happens. Mein hua to hua ’84. How are you doing? Even though he later expressed regret, this comment had a big negative effect on the Congress party’s reputation right before a crucial election.
Religion Is Personal -Sam Pitroda
Pitroda most recently questioned the national attention on religious matters, specifically the construction of the Ram Mandir, at an event in the United States in June 2023. He expressed his displeasure that religious arguments were taking center stage over pressing concerns like unemployment, inflation, and education.
“When the entire nation is hung up on Ram Temple and Ram Janmabhoomi, it bothers me…To me, religion is something very personal, and national issues are education, employment, growth, the economy, inflation, health, the environment, and pollution. But no one speaks about it,” he said in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
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