Congress sees India in pieces: Kangana Ranaut on Sam Pitroda's controversial remarks

Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 9 : After Sam Pitroda's controversial remark that caused a major political furore in election season, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kangana Ranaut said that the Congress sees India in pieces and so they are filled with members of the "tukde tukde" gang.
"The mindset of Congress is such that they see India in pieces. That is why Congress is filled with 'tukde-tukde' gang," Ranaut who is BJP's candidate from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi said on Wednesday.
Heaping praises on the Indian civilization, Ranaut said, "Our civilization is the oldest. Benaras has the culture of the world's oldest cities. It is possible that the DNA of Bharat travelled worldwide. Why can't Bharat have its own identity? When will we come out of this slave mindset?"
Taking a dig at the Gandhis, Ranaut asked, "Are they forcing an international identity on all Indians just because Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are Italians?"
Condemning Sam Pitroda's remarks, the Bollywood actor said, "The way Sam Pitroda has tried to make Indians look small is very condemnable. We are Indians, we all have our own identity and we should get out of this mindset of slavery. People should say that we have an identity and other identities should not be imposed on us."
Sam Pitroda, whose remarks "people of the East look like the Chinese and those of the South look like Africans" embarrassed the Congress, resigned as Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday.
The Congress had earlier distanced itself from Pitroda's remarks.
"Mr. Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his decision," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X.
Pitroda stirred a major controversy in the middle of Lok Sabha polls and BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi seized on them to target the Congress.
Pitroda, in an interview with 'The Statesman', while reflecting upon the democracy in India said, "We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside few fights here and there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arab, people in the North look like white and maybe people in the South look like Africans."
He further added that the people of India respect different languages, religions, food and customs which vary from region to region.
"That's the India that I believe in, where everybody has a place and everybody compromises a little bit," he said.