"This is India, not America," says former CM Chouhan on Sam Pitroda's inheritance tax remark
Apr 24, 2024
Harda (Madhya Pradesh) [India], April 24 : Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday slammed the Congress party over Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda advocating an inheritance tax saying Congress should tell first that this is India not America and here people save their hard-earned money for their children.
Chouhan further says that India's culture, life values are different and in countries like America, this concept of family does not exist. The people of the country will never forgive Congress for it.
"Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi should tell us that this is India, not America. Here mother, father, grandfather and grandmother save their hard-earned money for their children. Congress wants to snatch away that property and distribute it. India's culture, life values are different. In countries like America, this concept of family does not exist. These are dangerous intentions of Congress. And these intentions have destroyed the Congress. The people of the country will never forgive Congress for this," Chouhan told ANI.
Earlier, emphasising the need for policy toward wealth redistribution, Pitroda spoke about the concept of inheritance tax prevailing in America and said these were issues that would need to be discussed.
"In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer 45% to his children, 55% 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," Pitroda had said.
After the comments snowballed into a controversy, Pitroda sought to downplay the issue saying he had only cited inheritance tax in the US as an example.
"Who said 55% will be taken away? Who said something like this should be done in India? Why is the BJP and the media in panic? I mentioned US inheritance tax in the US only as an example in my normal conversation on TV. Can I not mention facts? I said these are the kind of issues people will have to discuss and debate. This has nothing to do with policy of any party including congress," Pitroda said in his post on X.
Nonetheless, the Congress officially has distanced itself from Pitroda's comments saying that they did not reflect the view of the party at all times.
