New Delhi: Congress re-appointed Sam Pitroda as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, an AICC release statement said on Wednesday.
“Congress President has reappointed Shri Sam Pitroda as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress with immediate effect,” party general secretary K C Venugopal said in a released statement.
Pitroda resigned from his position earlier in May amid controversies over his comments about the appearance of Indians. Subsequently, the Congress party distanced itself from Pitroda’s statements.
Pitroda, in an interview with ‘The Statesman’, while reflecting upon the democracy in India, 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 in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arabs, people in the North look like whites, and maybe people in the South look like Africans.”
The comments sparked controversy during the Lok Sabha elections, prompting a strong response from the BJP against the Congress party. Jairam Ramesh stated that Sam Pitroda’s analogies were “most unfortunate and unacceptable.”
“The analogies drawn by 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,” he said in a post on X.
Also Read: Sam Pitroda Embarrasses Congress Again With Racist Remarks
Pitroda previously sparked controversy with his comments on sensitive matters, notably when he advocated for an inheritance tax law in India. Highlighting the necessity for policies aimed at wealth redistribution, Pitroda detailed the practice of inheritance tax as it exists in America.
“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and, when he dies, 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, but half of it, which to me sounds fair,” Pitroda said.
Also Read: Congress Distances Itself From Sam Pitroda’s ‘Inheritance Tax’ Remark
