Who is Sam Pitroda and how his controversial remarks have put Congress in soup

Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda

The Congress has found itself in a fire-fighting mode yet again due to remarks made by its leader Sam Pitroda on inheritance tax - imposed by some states in US - and how it's an "interesting idea".

PM Modi and several BJP leaders seized on Pitroda's remarks to double down on their wealth redistribution offensive against Congress.

This is not the first time that Pitroda's remarks have left Congress on a sticky wicket.

Who is Sam Pitroda?

Based in Chicago, Sam Pitroda, 81, is the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress who has been associated with the grand old party since the Indira Gandhi era. He was also said to be close to Rajiv Gandhi.

He is a telecommunication engineer and entrepreneur who served as an advisor to late former PM Rajiv Gandhi and headed six technology missions related to telecommunications, water, literacy, immunization, dairy and oilseeds.

During the Rajiv Gandhi-era, Pitroda worked closely with the then Congress government to help build the IT industry in India.

In 2010, he founded the National Innovation Council and served as the advisor to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He was also was appointed Chairman of the National Innovation Council the same year.

Pitroda is also an entrepreneur and has started several businesses in US and Europe.

Sam Pitroda's controversial remarks

Over the years, Pitroda has made several remarks that have made controversy.

'Hua to Hua' - On anti-Sikh riots

In May 2019, during the previous Lok Sabha polls, Pitroda caused a major uproar with his casual dismissal of the 1984 riots.

On BJP's claim that alleged instructions that triggered the 1984 anti-Sikh riots came from Rajiv Gandhi himself, Pitroda denied the charges but said: “Ab kya hai ’84 ka? Aapne kya kiya 5 saal mein, uski baat kariye. ’84 mein hua to hua. Aapne kya kiya? (Now what is there to say about 1984? Talk about what you did in the last 5 years. What happened in 1984 happened. But what have you achieved?).”

The remarks drew ire of BJP and other parties, prompting Pitroda to apologise later to the Congress.

'Happens all the time' - On Pulwama

In February 2019, Pitroda questioned the Balakot air strikes carried out by Indian Air Force in Pakistan in retaliation to the Pulwama attack.

“I don’t know much about attacks. It happens all the time. 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," Pitroda said.

He also sought evidence of the IAF’s operation.

'Everyone talks about Ram' - On Ram Mandir

Last year, amid anticipation of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Pitroda said that temples are not going to create jobs in the country. "No one talks about these things. But everyone talks about Ram, Hanuman, and Mandir. I have said that temples are not going to create jobs," he said. BJP was quick to condemn these remarks, calling Pitroda and Rahul Gandhi "Hinduphobic". Expectedly, Congress distanced itself from the remarks.

'Middle class shouldn't be selfish'

In 2019, Pitroda left Congress red-faced againw hen he commented on the grand old party's NYAY scheme that promised a minimum guaranteed income for the poor. He said that middle class shouldn't be "selfish" and must pay more taxes to fund the scheme.

“The middle class should not be selfish and have a big heart," he said in a TV interview.

The remarks triggered a political backlash and promoted Rahul Gandhi and former finance minister P Chidambaram to clarify that there will not be any increase in taxes.

Nehru's contribution to Constitution

Earlier this year, Pitroda shared a post on X citing Sudheendra Kulkarni, a former close aide of BJP veteran LK Advani, to say that Jawaharlal Nehru contributed more to the framing of Indian Constitution than BR Ambedkar. He later deleted the post.

The post stoked a major firestorm on social media, with people calling out Pitroda for belittling Ambedkar, who is known as the architect of the Constitution.

Sam Pitroda's latest remarks on inheritance tax

In his latest remarks amid the wealth redistribution row, Pitroda called inheritance tax an "interesting idea" during an interview earlier this week.

“If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 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 public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair," Pitroda said.

He said that India does not have such a provision. “If somebody is worth Rs 10 billion and he dies, his children get Rs 10 billion and the public gets nothing ... So these are the kind of issues people will have to debate and discuss. I don't know what the conclusion would be at the end of the day but when we talk about redistributing wealth, we are talking about new policies and new programs that are in the interest of the people and not in the interest of super-rich only."