Who is Sam Pitroda?
Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda was born on 17 Novermber 1942 in Titlagarh, Orissa. His parents were Gujaratis and were influenced by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi hence they sent him to Gujarat to imbibe his philosophy. He completed his basic education in Gujarat only and went to the United States of America for a Master’s.
Later he returned to India and joined as advisor to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Sam was also an advisor of Former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Congress Party member Rahul Gandhi.
Sam Pitroda quits as Indian Overseas Congress chief
Recently Sam has gotten into controversy over social media. his old videos and current interviews have put him in tight condition. On 8 May 2024, he stepped down from the Indian Overseas Congress Chief post over racist and unacceptable remarks about Indians. He said, “People in the east look like the Chinese, and those of the south look like Africans“.
This is not the first time he got into trouble with words coming from his mouth. His previous statements are getting viral on social media now. Sam Pitorda 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 together as diverse as India, where people on the east look like Chinese, people on the West look like Arab, people on the North look like white and maybe people on the South look like Africans.”
Sam Pitroda’s Inheritance Tax Controversy
Sam Pitroda said in an Interview about the US Inheritance Tax, “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 percent to his children, 55 percent 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.”
Anti- Sikh Riot
When Sam Pitroda was asked about the Anti-Sikh Riot in 1984 he reacted, “What about 1984 (riots) now? Talk about what you did in the last five years. What happened in 1984 has happened. So what? You were voted to create jobs. You were voted to create 200 smart cities. You did not even do that. You did nothing, so you keep talking about here and there.” With such an attitude he also insulted the Sikh community. It felt like Sikhs’ lives didn’t matter to him. After this BJP allegations him of always commenting wrong.
Pulwama and 26/11 attack
Sam Pitroda presented his view about Pulwama and 26/11, which also cornered him. Indi Alliance party members also condemned this. About India’s Retaliation for the Pulwama attack, he said, “I don’t know much about attacks. It happens all the time. The attack happened in Mumbai also. We could have then reacted and just sent our planes, but that is not the right approach. According to me, that’s not how you deal with the world,”
On the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, he said, “Eight people (26/11 terrorists) come and do something, you don’t jump on the entire nation (Pakistan). Naive to assume that just because some people came here and attacked, every citizen of that nation is to be blamed. I don’t believe in that way,”
In June 2023 he presented his views about Ram Mandir. Sam Pitroda said Ram Mandir won’t help in creating jobs, solving unemployment, controlling Inflation, health, and education. But in reality, Ayodhya Ram Mandir is already creating a lot of jobs and opening new modes of earning. Sam always tries to be woke but ends up remaining choked. They worry about individual identity more than Country.
