The Congress and the BJP, which have been at the loggerheads after furore over ‘wealth redistribution’, have intensified the attack on each other after the overseas chief of the grand old party, Sam Pitroda, said he was in favour of the Inheritance Tax, which was prevalent across the United States. Pitroda said under the provision, 55 per cent fortune of a person is confiscated by the government after his death and only 45 per cent goes to his offspring.
He said he liked the impartial law, which leaves half of the accumulated wealth for the public.
The BJP lapped up the issue to double down on Congress on the latter’s alleged poll promise of ‘wealth reassessment’. Prime Minister Modi, while addressing a poll rally, said the Congress was planning to tax the inheritance received by people from their parents. "The advisor of the prince(referring to Rahul Gandhi) of the Congress royal family had earlier said more tax should be imposed on the middle class. Now they have gone further ahead. The Congress is saying that it will impose an Inheritance Tax and tax the inheritance received by people from their parents," he said at a public meeting in Chhattisgarh's Surguja.
Home Minister Amit Shah also rebuked the Congress on its leader’s statement. He said Sam Pitroda’s remark, after Congress’ ‘wealth redistribution’ poll promise and Manmohan Singh’s statement, had exposed the intentions of the grand old party. He said the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi were on the back foot after PM Modi raised these issues. He said Congress should either withdraw the alleged statement from their manifesto or accept that it is indeed their intention.
#WATCH | Kochi, Kerala: On Chairman of Indian Overseas Congres Sam Pitroda's remark, Union Home Minister Home Minister Amit Shah says, "After Sam Pitroda's remark, Congress party is completely exposed. First of all, mention of 'survey' in their manifesto, Manmohan Singh's old… pic.twitter.com/x8HbXVwfHV — ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2024
The Congress however said Pitroda’s comment did not reflect the party’s stand and he was entitled to express his ideology. “Sam Pitroda has been a guru, friend, philosopher and guide to many people across the world including me. He has made many important contributions to the development of India. He is the President of the Indian Overseas Congress. Pitroda ji openly expresses his views on the issues that he feels necessary to speak about. In a democracy, a person is certainly free to express his views, discuss and debate personal views. But this does not mean that Pitroda ji's views always reflect the position of the Indian National Congress. At times, his views differ. Now his comments are being sensationalised and presented in a different context. This is being done deliberately to divert attention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's malicious and hate-filled election campaign; which is based only and only on lies,” Congress’ Jairam Ramesh posted on X.
सैम पित्रोदा मेरे सहित दुनिया भर में कई लोगों के लिए गुरु, मित्र, दार्शनिक और मार्गदर्शक के समान रहे हैं। उन्होंने भारत के विकास में कई महत्वपूर्ण योगदान दिया है। वह इंडियन ओवरसीज कांग्रेस के अध्यक्ष हैं।
पित्रोदा जी उन मुद्दों पर खुलकर अपनी बात रखते हैं जिनके बारे में वह बोलना… — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 24, 2024
Pitroda too issued clarification on his statement, asserting that his remark was twisted by the media. “It is unfortunate that what I said as an individual on inheritance tax in the US is twisted by Godi media to divert attention from what lies PM is spreading about Congress manifesto. PM’s comments Mangal Sutra & gold snatching is simply unreal,” he posted on X.
He said his remark had nothing to do with the policy of any party and he made it in normal conversation. “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,” he said.
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. — Sam Pitroda (@sampitroda) April 24, 2024
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“Who said 55% will be taken away ? Who said some thing like this should be done in India ? Why is BJP and media in panic ?” Pitroda added.
Since Pitroda’s comment went viral, leaders from both parties have been making statements against each other.