Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called for an apology from Congress following controversial remarks made by its leader Sam Pitroda regarding India's diversity. Speaking to the media, Adityanath lambasted Congress and held the grand old party for the partition of India in 1947. "He (Sam Pitroda) is Congress' 'buddhidata' and he is displaying the party's policy of divide and rule. Congress is responsible for the partition in 1947, it is responsible for the horrors of partition. Even after the independence, it has committed the sin of dividing the country in the name of caste, region, and language. Sam Pitroda's remark is highly condemnable. Congress party should apologise to the country for the things it is making Sam Pitroda say," CM Adityanath told news agency ANI.
'Congress' mindset is dangerous'
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister characterized the mindset of Congress as dangerous, expressing concern over the party's attempts to divide the country into four parts based on skin colour. He deemed this mindset highly shameful and condemnable, emphasizing that Sam Pitroda's statement insulted the entire population of 1.4 billion Indians. "The way Congress is trying to divide the four parts (North, South, East and West) of the country based on skin colour shows the dangerous mindset of Congress. The statement is highly shameful and condemnable. The statement by Sam Pitroda also insults the 140 crore Indians and Congress should apologise for this," he added.
Pitroda's controversial remarks
Adityanath's reactions came a day after Pitroda ignited a firestorm while speaking on the diversity of India referring to how people in the South "look like Africans and those in the West look like Arabs and those in the East look like Chinese." In a podcast, Pitroda said, "We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside a few fights here and there. We could hold a country as diverse as India together. Where 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. We respect different languages, different religions, different customs, different food," Pitroda said in the interview that was widely circulated on social media.
Pitroda resigns as chairman of Indian Overseas Congress
Later on Wednesday, Pitroda resigned as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress after his controversial remarks spurred the BJP to label the party "racist". Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge accepted Pitroda's decision. Pitroda was an advisor to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and has been closely associated with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanying him during his foreign visits.
(With inputs from agencies)
