May 8th 2024.
In a surprising turn of events, Congress leader Sam Pitroda announced his resignation as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday. This decision came after his recent remarks sparked controversy and were deemed as racist by the BJP. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted Pitroda's resignation.
Ramesh shared in a post that Pitroda made the decision to step down from his position of his own accord. This came after Pitroda's statements during a podcast, where he used terms like Chinese, Arabs, Whites, and Africans to describe the physical appearance of Indians from different regions of the country. The Congress quickly distanced themselves from Pitroda's words, stating that they were unacceptable and unfortunate.
With the fourth phase of polls approaching and campaigns in full swing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the opportunity to attack the Congress for Pitroda's comments. He strongly denounced the idea of racial profiling and stated that people will not tolerate being insulted based on the color of their skin. During his rallies in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Modi also linked the Congress' opposition to Droupadi Murmu's presidential bid to their mindset, which saw her as an African solely because of her dark skin.
In response to the controversy, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that the party completely dissociates itself from Pitroda's analogies, which he used to illustrate India's diversity. He called the remarks unfortunate and unacceptable. Ramesh later announced Pitroda's resignation, which was accepted by the Congress president.
The BJP, however, dismissed the Congress' disassociation with Pitroda's comments, highlighting his history of making insulting and demeaning remarks. They also mentioned his infamous "hua to hua" reaction to a question about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and his statement "it happens all the time" in reference to the Pulwama terror attack, both during the 2019 general election. These comments had caused significant uproar at the time.
In the past, Pitroda had also caused controversy with his mention of an inheritance tax in the United States as an "interesting law" while discussing the Congress' electoral manifesto. The BJP accused the opposition party of wanting to redistribute citizens' wealth through this policy. It's clear that Pitroda's remarks have been a source of trouble for the Congress and have caused them to face criticism from their opponents.
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