From 'hua toh hua' to 'US inheritance tax': Sam Pitroda 'embarrasses' Congress, again

NEW DELHI: Sam Pitroda has done it again. The chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress has yet again made a remark that has triggered a political storm and put the grand old party on the defensive. Pitroda's remarks on the concept of inheritance tax in the US have been lapped up by the BJP to reinforce its wealth distribution attack on the Congress.It comes at a time when the Congress has been trying hard to counter Prime Minister Modi's relentless attack over its manifesto pitch on socio-economic and caste survey and redistribution of resources.
PM Modi on Wednesday seized on Pitroda's remarks to step up a blistering attack on the issue of "wealth redistribution", saying "zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi" is the opposition party's mantra to "loot" people.
In his poll rallies, PM Modi framed Pitroda's comments in his wider onslaught against the Congress, asserting that they have exposed its hidden agenda and that the party has become so removed from the country's social and family values that it wants to legally rob people of their assets and lifelong savings they want to bequeath to their children.

The Congress was quick to distance itself from Pitroda's remarks. Jairam Ramesh who is also the Congress general secretary (Communications) said, "Sam Pitroda expresses his views on issues that he considers important, very freely. On this particular issue also he is not reflecting the official position of the Congress. But I think what is happening is, that his comments are torn out of context and they are being sensationalized in order to divert attention from the PM's deliberate, mischievous and malicious, poison-ridden campaign."
Unfortunately for the Congress, this is not the first time that Sam Pitroda has put the grand old party on the backfoot with his "off the cuff" remarks, especially in the election season. Here's a look at some of the old Pitroda remarks that stoked controversy.
On Ram Mandir
In June 2023, when the country was waiting for the grand Ram Mandir opening, Pitroda gave BJP ammunition to attack the Congress as he said that temples were not going to solve India’s problems of unemployment, inflation, education, and health. "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.
On 1984 anti-Sikh riots
In May 2019, Pitroda "hua to hua" (so what) when he was asked about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
"Ab kya hai '84 ka? Aapne kya kiya 5 saal mein, uski baat kariye. ’84 mein hua to hua. You were voted to create jobs. You were voted to create 200 smart cities. Aapne wo bhi nahi kiya. Aapne kuch nahi kiya isliye aap yahan wahan gup lagate hain'," Pitroda had then said.
On Pulwama attack
In February 2019, Pitroda kicked up a storm as he raised questions on Balakot air strikes by the Indian Air Force which were carried out in retaliation to the Pulwama attacks. "I don’t know much about attacks. It happens all the time. The 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 had said.
Nehru vs Ambedkar on Constitution
Citing an article by Sudheendra Kulkarni, a former close aide of BJP veteran LK Advani, Pitorda in a social media post had claimed that India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, contributed more than BR Ambedkar in the framing of the Constitution. Pitroda later deleted the post.
On Nyay scheme
Pitroda put the Congress party in a tough spot in April 2019 when he said that the middle class should not be selfish. They should be prepared to shell out more taxes to fund the party’s proposed NYAY, a scheme promising a guaranteed minimum income for every poor household, he had said.