Senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda recently made a statement that sparked controversy, emphasizing India’s rich diversity and the harmonious coexistence of people of various appearances for the past 75 years.
Pitroda commented, “We have managed to keep a country as diverse as India together, where people in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arabs, people in the North look like maybe Whites, and people in South India look like Africans. It doesn’t matter. We are all brothers and sisters,” in an interview with The Statesman.
In response, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma disagreed with Pitroda’s comments, underscoring India’s unity in diversity. He tweeted, “Sam bhai (Brother), I am from the North East and I look like an Indian. We are a diverse country – we may look different but we are all one. Hamare desh ke bare mein thoda to samajh lo!”
Likewise, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh criticized Pitroda’s remarks, calling them “unfortunate” and “utter nonsense.” Singh demanded an apology from the Congress party, stating, “We all live together in India. We are all Indians. I feel very very sad and condemn this kind of comment by Congress.” He accused the party of having a hidden agenda to divide India on religious grounds and attributed the violence in Manipur to their influence.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also expressed disapproval of Pitroda’s statement, highlighting its potential impact on India’s cultural fabric. Rijiju said, “This is not a personal opinion of Sam Pitroda. Congress takes all ideas from him, so Congress should not come out and say this is his personal comment. Rahul Gandhi and Pitroda had foreign thinking, they want to end our culture.”