'Unfair to think China is the enemy': Sam Pitroda downplays China threat, says issue 'blown out of proportion'

Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda

Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda on Monday said that the India-China row is often blown out of proportion.

Speaking about  whether US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be able to control the threat from China, Pitroda said he did not understand the threat from the neighbouring  nation.

"I don't understand the threat from China. I think this issue is often blown out of proportion because the US has a tendency to define an enemy. I believe the time has come for all nations to collaborate, not confront. Our approach has been confrontational from the very beginning, and this attitude creates enemies, which in turn garners support within the country. We need to change this mindset and stop assuming that China is the enemy from day one. It's unfair, not just to China, but to everyone," he told the news agency IANS.

Watch: On whether US President Donald Trump and PM Modi will be able to control the threat from China, Indian Overseas Congress Chief Sam Pitroda says, "I don't understand the threat from China. I think this issue is often blown out of proportion because the U.S. has a tendency pic.twitter.com/UaBvPVqdsr

IANS (@ians_india) February 17, 2025

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the United States, Trump expressed optimism about future relations with China while acknowledging past tensions. Addressing a joint press conference with PM Modi, Trump acknowledged the intensity of India-China tension.   “I look at India, I do see the skirmishes on the border, which are quite vicious, and I guess they continue to go on. If I could be of help, I’d love to help, because that should be stopped," he said.

The Congress recently alleged the Union government has not yet satisfactorily explained to the country why this is the right time to normalise relations with China, asking whether status quo was restored as on May 2020 at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and if Indian troops could access areas that had become out of bound.

"Ever since June 2020, when the outgoing Prime Minister gave China a clean chit for its actions in Ladakh, the people of India have been asking why the BJP is so unwilling to stand up to China. Are the close links between the BJP and the Communist Party of China behind this?" AICC media department chairman Pawan Khera said in a statement.

In May 2024, the Congress allaged that the BJP held 12 meetings with the officials of the Communist Party of China since 2008 and sought a complete record of the minutes of those meetings.

The BJP accused the Congress of being too sympathetic toward China. Party’s national spokesperson Tuhin Sinha posted on X, “Those who ceded away 40000 square km of our land to China, still see no threat from the Dragon.. no wonder Rahul Gandhi is in awe of China and was rooting for BRI one day before the IMEEC was announced .. the crux of Cong party’s obsessive fascination for China, lies hidden in the mysterious 2008 Cong-CCP MOU.”