Day after Centre's fact check on remark, Sam Pitroda makes big claim about IIT Roorkee
Congress leader Sam Pitroda said that it is deeply disturbing that such incidents occur especially in academic spaces meant for learning and growth.
A day after the Centre dismissed Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s claim about an objectionable video being played during his webcast with "IIT Ranchi students", he made similar claims about IIT Roorkee. In a post on X, he said that during an event through a Zoom link, "explicit and inappropriate content" was streamed; however, it was immediately shut down.
"I was invited to speak at IIT Roorkee during the Cognizant event on February 1, 2025, via Zoom with students and faculty. Unfortunately, just minutes after my speech, a hacker infiltrated the video link and began streaming explicit, inappropriate content. We immediately shut down the video and ended the event," Pitroda wrote.
The Congress’ overseas unit chairman said that it is deeply disturbing that such incidents occur especially in academic spaces meant for learning and growth. “CyberSecurity remains a critical concern, and this serves as a stark reminder of the importance of digital safety and vigilance,” Pitroda said.
Ministry of Education's fact-check on Pitroda's allegations
The Ministry of Education, fact-checking another remark of Sam Pitroda in which he had said that objectionable video was played during a seminar in "IIT Ranchi", said: "It has come to the notice that Shri Sam Pitroda shared a video on his “X” handle on 22nd Feb 2025. He made a statement in that video that he was speaking at the IIT Ranchi to several hundred students, and someone hacked in and started playing some objectionable content, and thus, the event got disrupted.
It is hereby clarified that there is no IIT in Ranchi. Therefore, the statement made in that video is not only baseless but also reeks of ignorance. It is pertinent to state that there is an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Ranchi. But IIIT, Ranchi has also confirmed that Shri Sam Pitroda has not been invited by Institute to any conference/seminar to deliver a lecture, physically or virtually.
Such a reckless statement seems to be an attempt to malign the image of an extremely reputed institution of the country, i.e., the Indian Institute of Technology. This institution has stood the test of time and produced some of the brightest minds in the country. Unlike such an uninformed person, IITs reputation is built on the merit, hard work, and achievement of many students, teachers, and academia.
Ministry of Education condemns the statement and reiterates that any such attempt to malign the image of the premier institution will face legal repercussions."