New Delhi: The Congress party re-instated Sam Pitroda as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, months after he resigned following controversial remarks on race and ethnicity. The development invited backlash from parties like BJP, and its ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which called the move "unacceptable".
After being reinstated, Pitroda told India Today that he quit the post as Prime Minister Narendra Modi started twisting his statements for political gains. He also defended his remarks, saying they were not racist. "Maybe the comparison was not that great. I am a human being and allowed to make mistakes," he said.
In a post, the BJP claimed that PM Modi had predicted the Congress would reinstate Sam Pitroda after the Lok Sabha polls. "As PM Modi anticipated, the Congress' sacking of Sam Pitroda was merely an election gimmick," the BJP said on X.
Pitroda had suggested that people in South India "look like Africans", those in the West "look like Arabs", and those in the East "look like Chinese" while talking about diversity and democracy in India. Days later, he again hit headlines after he made a reference to inheritance tax in the United States while discussing the Congress's poll manifesto.
