Sam Pitroda, chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, has come under fire for his racist remarks on south Indians and north east citizens. In an interview with The Statesman, Sam compared several Indian citizens to various nationalities while speaking about the country’s diversity. He said, “We are a shining example of democracy. We could hold the country together as diverse as India where people in the east look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arabs, and people in the north may look like whites and people from the south look like Africans.”
Following this, several took to the internet condemning Sam’s offensive analogy. Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders also criticised Sam’s remarks. Reacting to it, Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himant Biswas Sarma said, “Sam bhai [brother], I am from the North East and I look like an Indian. We are a diverse country - we may look different but we are all one. Understand a little about our country!”
After widespread criticism, the Congress party disassociated itself from the controversy. Jairam Ramesh, Congress MP and the in-charge for the party’s communication, said that Sam’s comments were “unacceptable.” He added, “The analogies drawn by Mr Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India’s diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable. The Indian National Congress completely dissociates itself from these analogies.”
Actor and BJP candidate from Himachal Pradesh, Kangana Ranaut also responded to Sam Pitroda’s remarks and accused the Congress of employing “divide and rule.” She said, “Sam Pitroda is Rahul Gandhi’s mentor. Listen to his racist & divisive jibes for Indians. Their whole ideology is about divide & rule. It's sickening to call fellow Indians Chinese and African. Shame on Congress!”
This is not the first time Sam Pitroda has stirred up a storm for Congress with his remarks. In an earlier speech, he had expressed support for the inheritance tax taking inspiration from the system in America. He said that India would benefit from a system where the children of deceased persons would receive only a portion of their wealth and a significant part of it would be acquired by the government. This triggered a series of attacks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Congress and their supposed ‘wealth distribution’ schemes and even took a communal turn when the PM claimed that the wealth of Hindus would be distributed to Muslims.