The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has said that the “unacceptable and unfortunate analogies” made by Sam Pitroda, former chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, has nothing to do with the Party and backed the stance of the All India Congress Committee in rejecting them.
The Party also accused the BJP of attempting to politicise the issue which it termed as “an indicator of their utter desperation in the face of an impending electoral rout.” NPCC slammed the BJP for its “hypocrisy” considering the several instances in the recent past where BJP leaders have been involved in racially loaded statements such as Union Minister Giriraj Singh in 2015, former BJP MP Tarun Vijay in 2017 and Santosh Ranjan Rai, the former national vice president of BJP’s youth wing in 2021, etc.
NPCC reaffirmed its “utmost respect for the rich diversity of India and our unwavering commitment in upholding the interests of all sections of society, irrespective of colour or creed.”
Sam Pitroda, who is based in Chicago in the United States of America, recently made a controversial statement in a podcast where he describes India’s diversity, saying here “people in the East look like the Chinese, people in the West look like the Arabs, people in the North look like, maybe, White and people in the South look like Africans”. “It does not matter. All of us are brothers and sisters,” Pitroda added.
The Congress Party soon distanced itself from the analogies and Sam Pitroda stepped down from the post. The BJP however condemned used the statement to attack the Congress and the Gandhi family.
Nagaland’s Minister and BJP leader Temjen Imna Along slammed the INC for its “divisive tactics” and stated that “Northeast region has always been an integral part of India and will continue to be so.”
“Mocking the diversity of our great nation is entirely unacceptable”, he said, demanding for apologies from the Congress Party and Sam Pitroda.
State BJP President Banjamin Yepthomi stated, “It’s disgraceful that a party claiming to represent all Indians harbors such divisive and discriminatory attitudes.” Mentioning that Prime Minister Narendra Modi refers to the people of India, irrespective of race, ethnicity or cultural background as “Mere Deshvaseeyon” or “My fellow country men and women”, he maintained that this is the difference the divisive Congress and the inclusive BJP.
“We cannot allow racial discrimination to be normalized. Congress must be held accountable for perpetuating such toxic behavior,” Yepthomi had said.
