After a seven-week break, Sam Pitroda, head of Congress's overseas unit, defended his remarks on Indian diversity, admitting he could have expressed himself better.
In an interview with NDTV, he said, "It is not about words but about the meaning... but maybe I could have done a better job." He brushed off the controversy that followed, focusing on the substance of his message rather than the fuss over how it was said.
Pitroda also said, "I have to run my life. They can twist the fact that I live in Chicago and why I am talking about India... I would expect civilised conversation, dialogue... but that is lost... People are not interested in the substance of a conversation, they are interested in the form of the conversation."
Soon after his remarks in early May, Pitroda stepped down from his post as chairman of IOC but he was reinstated on June 26.
Pitroda's Controversial Statement
Pitroda during an interview in May speaking of diversity in India said, "diverse country... where people in the East look like the Chinese, people on West look like Arabs, people in the North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africans".
In the lead-up to the election, it sparked controversy following his remarks on inheritance tax.
Pitroda called inheritance tax an instance of "new policies to help prevent concentration of wealth" requiring discussion and debate. He had also stated that the Congress party consistently supports individuals at the lower end of the economic spectrum.
His comments were viewed as endorsing inheritance tax in India, prompting a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who suggested that if Congress were to come to power, personal wealth would be redistributed among "infiltrators," with even women's mangalsutras not being spared.
How Did Congress React?
After the Congress party announced Pitroda's reappointment in a statement, Jairam Ramesh explained that they made this decision after Pitroda clarified the meaning of his statements and promised not to create similar controversies in the future.
In a post on X, Ramesh wrote, "During the recent election campaign Sam Pitroda had made some statements and comments that were totally unacceptable to the Indian National Congress. By mutual consent he stepped down as Chairman of Overseas Indian Congress."
"Subsequently he clarified the context in which statements were made and how they were later distorted by the Modi campaign. The Congress President has reappointed him on the assurance that he will not in future leave room for such controversies to arise," he added.
Pitroda speaking to media emphasised that his commitment to the party cannot be questioned.
He said, "I am grown up. I know my responsibility for my party. I am committed to Congress. I have been a congressman from Day One and I will remain a Congressman till I die… It has nothing to do with what I say... but my commitment to values. I believe in the Congress ideology."
