Sam Pitroda steps down from Congress post
Sam Pitroda steps down from Congress post
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh announced that Sam Pitroda has voluntarily chosen to step down from his position as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. The decision was accepted by the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
Congress leader Sam Pitroda triggered controversy with his “people of the east look like the Chinese and those of the south look like Africans” remarks, with the ruling BJP latching on to his “racist” comments and claiming that those have exposed the opposition party’s “divisive” politics.
Congress has officially distanced itself from the remarks made by Pitroda, characterizing them as regrettable and inappropriate. The party stated that it “fully disassociates” itself from the comments.
In a podcast, Pitroda, remarked, “Over the past 75 years, we have thrived in a harmonious environment where people coexisted peacefully, despite occasional disagreements.”
“We could hold the country as diverse as India together. Where 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 Africans. It does not matter. All of us are brothers and sisters. We respect different languages, different religions, different customs, different food,” Pitroda said in the interview that was widely circulated on social media.
Racist remarks row: Modi attacks Congress
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attacked the Congress over its party leader Sam Pitroda’s comments over skin colour and asserted that the countrymen would not tolerate insults on the basis of skin colour.
Hitting out at top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said he has now understood that the national party sought to defeat President Droupadi Murmu in the presidential poll as her “skin colour is dark”.
As Pitroda’s reported comments kicked up a row, Modi asked, “Will the ability of people be decided in my country on the basis of skin colour?”
For more news like this visit The Economic Times.