"Lowered level of political discourse...": Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde flays Pitroda over racist remark
May 10, 2024
Thane (Maharashtra) [India], May 10 : Tearing into former Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda over his racist remark against Indians, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said his statement 'lowered' the level of political discourse in the country.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, CM Shinde said, "He (Pitroda) lowered the level of political discourse in the country through his remarks. The people will give a befitting reply to such attempts to vilify and divide people on the basis of their skin tone, caste and faith. The people will show them (Opposition) their place."
Stirring up a massive political storm, Piroda, in an interview with The Statesman, Pitroda went off on a rant saying those inhabiting the country's East look like 'Chinese' while those living down South bear resemblance with 'Africans'.
Apparently weighing in on the country's pluralistic character and how people from different ethnicities have made India their home, 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 together as diverse as India, where people in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arabs, people in the North look like whites, and maybe people in the South look like Africans."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP's attack on Congress and Pitroda over the statement, saying neither he nor fellow countrymen would tolerate such attempts to divide natives on their skin tone.
Faced with fury from the BJP and criticism from a cross-section of Opposition leaders, Pitroda stepped down as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday evening.
His resignation was promptly accepted by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, with party general secretary Jairam Ramesh clarifying that Pitroda took the decision on his own accord.
Pitroda, earlier, courted controversy after advocating the introduction of an inheritance tax in the country along the lines of the US.
