‘Let them come': Sam Pitroda’s comment on illegal immigrants sparks row

Sam Pitroda is the Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress andclose aide to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress. Sam Pitroda, has once again sparked controversy by commenting on the settlement of illegal migrants in India.

Pitroda, a close aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, advocated for illegal migrants to settle in India and criticised the Centre for its failure to address the issue.

“If they want to come here, even illegally, let them come. We should include everybody. If we have to suffer a little bit, it’s okay. We will share but nobody wants to share. They want to keep their pie bigger and bigger,” Pitroda said.

OUTRAGEOUS!Rahul Gandhis right hand man Sam Pitrodas statement advocating for illegal migrants to settle in India, even at the countrys expense, is shocking and irresponsible.Now you wonder how Congress since the last 70 years worked overtime to settle ILLEGALS in our pic.twitter.com/kKVFusDD71
Pradeep Bhandari( ) (@pradip103) January 27, 2025

According to him, the Centre should shift its attention to more pressing global issues such as climate change. His comments have drawn sharp reactions, especially with the issue of illegal immigration becoming a heated topic in the political landscape ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections.

The issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigration has re-emerged as a pivotal political narrative ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections.

The BJP claimed that the ruling AAP was involved in creating fake Aadhaar cards for Bangladeshi infiltrators and accused Delhi’s ruling party of using them as a “vote bank” for the upcoming polls.

BJP reacts

BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari swiftly reacted to Sam Pitroda’s statement advocating for the permanent settlement of illegal migrants in India, calling the remark “outrageous".

“Rahul Gandhi’s right-hand man Sam Pitroda’s statement advocating for illegal migrants to settle in India, even at the country’s expense, is shocking and irresponsible,” Bhandari said in an X post.

“Now you wonder how Congress for the last 70 years worked overtime to settle illegals in our country!” he added.

However, this is not the first time Pitroda courted controversy. During the Lok Sabha elections last year, the Congress leader said, “Northeast people look like Chinese, people in the west look like Arabs, people in the north look like white and the south look like Africa.”