• Sam Pitroda resigns from Indian Overseas Congress post amid racist remark row

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    Sam Pitroda resigns from Indian Overseas Congress post amid racist remark row

    Later, he made it clear that his remarks were twisted and had nothing to do with the Congress or the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

    Digital Desk: Congress leader Sam Pitroda resigned from his position as Indian Overseas Congress Chairman, and the party accepted his resignation. Jairam Ramesh, the leader of the Congress, revealed on X that Sam Pitroda had chosen to step down from the important position "of his own accord". 

    Pitroda faced criticism for his divisive comment that Indians in the East resembled Chinese people, while those in the South looked like African people.

    "We could hold together a country as diverse as India -- where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people on North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africans. It doesn't matter. We are all brothers and sisters," Pitroda said during an interview with The Statesman. 

    Instantly after Pitroda's comments, the Congress called them "unacceptable" and distanced itself from them.

    "The analogies drawn by Mr Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India's diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable. The Indian National Congress completely dissociates itself from these analogies," Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

    Regarding Pitroda's comments, the BJP also criticized the Congress, calling them "racist and divisive". 

    Sam Pitroda caused controversy earlier for seemingly supporting an inheritance tax in India along the lines of the US.

    Sam Pitroda has suggested the idea of an inheritance tax in certain US states in an interview with the news agency ANI, calling for a wealth redistribution policy.

    "The United States imposes an inheritance tax. If someone has 100 million USD in fortune, the government receives 55% of it after death and they can likely only leave 45% to their offspring. That law is fascinating. It states that since you are departing from this generation and have amassed riches, you must leave half of your fortune—not all of it—to the public. This seems fair to me, Pitroda had remarked. 

    Later, he made it clear that his remarks were twisted and had nothing to do with the Congress or the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.