New Delhi:

Senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda – whose comment last month about an inheritance tax in the United States sparked a massive fight with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party – has triggered another row in his attempt to make a pitch for national unity. 

In an exclusive interview with The Statesman, Mr Pitroda described India as a “… diverse country… where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people on North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africa”. 

The remark has been slammed by senior BJP leaders, including Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and his Assam counterpart,  Himanta Biswa Sarma, who posted on X, ” Sam bhai, I am from the northeast, and I look like an Indian. We are a diverse country – we may look different, but we are all one.”

“Hamare desh ke bare mein thoda to samajh lo! (Please understand at least something about our country)” the senior BJP leader hit back at Mr Pitroda.

Sam bhai, 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.

Hamare desh ke bare mein thoda to samajh lo! https://t.co/eXairi0n1n

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) May 8, 2024

Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut, the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, also responded, accusing Mr Pitroda of making “racist” and “divisive” comments. 

“Sam Pitroda is Rahul Gandhi’s mentor. Listen to his racist and divisive jibes for Indians. Their whole (the Congress’) ideology is about divide and rule. It’s sickening to call fellow Indians Chinese and African. Shame on Congress!” she said.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla called Mr Pitroda’s comment “shocking, despicable and disgusting”.

“He is the mentor of Rahul Gandhi. It is the word, spirit, vocabulary and ideology of Rahul Gandhi… First, they divided on the basis of caste, religion and language. Now, they are dividing Indian vs. Indian. And to make a comment like Indians are like Chinese, isn’t it a racist comment? Isn’t it insulting and objectionable ? It shows ‘Congress ki Mohabbat ki Dukan actually has ‘nafrat‘ and ‘racism ka saman‘…”

#WATCH | Delhi: On Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda’s controversial “People in East look like Chinese, in South look like Africans…” remark, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla says, “This is a shocking, despicable and disgusting comment made by Sam Pitroda. He is… pic.twitter.com/jQ9tMRAkyY

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2024

Mr Pitroda was responding to a question about what the Congress has tried to make one of the fundamental issues of the 2024 Lok Sabha election – that the BJP, should it win this poll, will look to alter the basic nature of the country’s socio-economic fabric, including by changing the Constitution.

Mr Pitroda referred to a “really divided country today based on ideas of India”, and said, “It is not a question of who is right or wrong… but a question of what you believe in.”

“… there is another view that says our founding fathers fought the British Raj not for a Hindu nation but for a secular nation. Pakistan decided to make a nation based on religion… you can see how that is going. We are a shining example of democracy in the world. We have survived 70-75 years in a very happy environment, leaving aside a few fights here and there,” he said.

“… we are all brothers and sisters, we respect different languages, religions, customs, and food. As a Gujarati, I love dosa. So, if I go to Tamil Nadu and speak the local language, it is ok. I am still at home… that is my India, rooted in democracy, freedom, liberty, and fraternity,” he declared. 

This view, Mr Pitroda declared, “is being challenged by one that includes the Ram Temple and Ram Navami and the PM going to temples all the time and talking not as a national leader, but that of the BJP”.

This comes days after the BJP ripped into the Congress over Mr Pitroda’s comments over an inheritance tax. 

Mr Pitroda’s comments then came as the Congress fended off a vicious attack by the BJP, which was sparked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about Muslims, and claims of “wealth redistribution… to those who have the most children… to infiltrators”. Mr Pitroda then, speaking to news agency ANI, had said the Congress always helps people at the bottom of the economic pyramid, and cited the inheritance tax in the United States as an example of “…new policies so concentration of wealth can be prevented”.

READ | Congress In Firefighting Mode Amid Row Over Sam Pitroda’s Remarks

The BJP had hit back fiercely, with several of its leaders taking aim at Mr Pitroda over his comments and allegations of the Congress’ “wealth redistribution” plans, which the party firmly denied. 

NDTV FACT CHECK | Has Congress Really Promised ‘Wealth Redistribution’?

The Congress, on that occasion, had distanced itself from Mr Pitroda’s comments, with senior communications figure Jairam Ramesh saying, “this does not mean Mr Pitroda’s views always reflect the position of the Indian National Congress”.

Surguja (Chhattisgarh):

Leading the BJP’s attack over senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s comments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today alleged that the Opposition party plans to tax inheritance passed down from parents to their children. The Congress has distanced itself from Mr Pitroda’s remarks and said they do not reflect the party’s position.

Addressing a poll rally at Chhattisgarh’s Surguja, the Prime Minister said the Congress’s “dangerous intentions are coming out in the open”.

Referring to Mr Pitroda, he said, “The advisor of the prince of the Congress royal family had earlier said that the middle class should be taxed more. Now they have gone further ahead. Now the Congress is saying that it will impose an Inheritance Tax and tax the inheritance received by people from their parents.”

“The wealth you accumulate with your hard work won’t pass down to your children. The Congress’s hand will snatch it. The Congress’s mantra is ‘loot during your lifetime, loot after your death’,” the Prime Minister said, taking a cue from Life Insurance Corporation’s “zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi” tagline.

“As long as you live, Congress’s high taxation will make you suffer. When you are dead, they will put the burden of inheritance tax,” he said.

Mr Pitroda, who leads the overseas wing of the Congress, is at the centre of a huge row after his remarks during an interview to news agency ANI. While targeting the Prime Minister over his allegations that the Congress plans to redistribute the nation’s wealth and that will take property and jewellery if it comes to power, Mr Pitroda said the Congress’s manifesto is well-drafted and accused the BJP of making up stories.

The Congress, he said, has always focused on the people at the bottom of the economic pyramid, whether they are OBCs, Muslims, Dalits or tribals. “Billionaires don’t need our help. It is the poor people who need our help. Inequality has substantially increased in the last 10 years,” he said.

“This doesn’t mean that you are going to take your wealth and give it to somebody. This means to create new policies so that the concentration of wealth can be prevented. It’s like a Monopoly Act,” he said.

He then cited a US example that snowballed into a controversy. “In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he 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, half of it, which to me sounds fair,” Mr Pitroda said.

It is worth pointing out that the US does not have a federal inheritance tax. In some states, such as Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, inherited assets are taxed. The payable tax depends on the amount of the inheritance and the relationship to the dead. This tax is only applied above a certain threshold and can go up to nearly 20 per cent of the inheritance.

Mr Pitroda said this is a policy issue. “Congress party would frame a policy through which the wealth distribution would be better. We don’t have a minimum wage (in India). If we come up with a minimum wage in the country saying you must pay so much money to the poor, that’s the distribution of wealth. Today, rich people don’t pay their peons, servants, and home help enough, but they spend that money on a vacation in Dubai and London,” he said.

Soon after the remarks started doing the rounds on social media, the BJP doubled up on its charge against the Congress. Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to the people to take Mr Pitroda’s remarks seriously. “Their hidden plans have come out in the open. People should take note. And the Congress must withdraw the mention of survey from its manifesto,” he said.

In fact, the manifesto calls for a nationwide socio-economic and caste Census to provide the data foundation for affirmative action, but does not mention any wealth redistribution plan.

The matter has gained steam after the Prime Minister alleged in election rallies that the Congress plans to conduct a survey and put into motion a wealth redistribution plan. He has also claimed that property and jewellery owned by citizens would be surveyed, taken away and redistibuted.   

Pushed into firefighting mode over Mr Pitroda’s remarks, the Congress distanced itself from the senior leader’s remark and stressed that its manifesto does not mention what the BJP is alleging.

Senior leader Jairam Ramesh posted on X, “Sam Pitroda has been a mentor, friend, philosopher, and guide to many across the world, including me. He has made numerous, enduring contributions to India’s developments. He is President of the Indian Overseas Congress.”

“Mr Pitroda expresses his opinions freely on issues he feels strongly about. Surely, in a democracy an individual is at liberty to discuss, express, and debate his personal views. This does not mean that Mr. Pitroda’s views always reflect the position of the Indian National Congress. Many times they do not,” Mr Ramesh clarified.

“Sensationalising his comments now and tearing them out of context are deliberate and desperate attempts at diverting attention away from Mr. Narendra Modi’s malicious and mischievous election campaign; that is anchored ONLY in lies and more lies,” he said.

Pawan Khera, chairman of Congress’s media and publicity department, said Prime Minister Modi’s remarks suggest that he has a problem with social justice. “In the past 10 years, the society’s deprived section has been left far behind due to Mr Modi’s policies,” he said.

Stressing that Mr Pitroda had not said the Congress will bring any inheritance act policy and that no such policy is mentioned in the party’s manifesto, he asked, “Is discussing and debating different ideas not allowed in this ancient land of Shastrarth?”

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told the media that the party did not impose any inheritance tax when it was in power for so many years. “Now you are trying to spread lies and create a bogey when there is none,” she said.

“Congress doesn’t believe in inheritance tax and we have never discussed or contemplated this. It’s actually Narendra Modi and his former finance minister Arun Jaitley who contemplated this, it’s their agenda,” she said.