Congress on Wednesday distanced itself from Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda’s ‘racist’ remarks about how people in the South “look like Africans and those in the East look like Arabs and those in the East look like Chinese.”

“The analogies drawn by 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,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in a post on X.

Pitroda has stirred controversy after remarking that Indians in the East resemble the Chinese while those in the South look like Africans.

Pitroda, in an interview with ‘The Statesman’, while reflecting upon the democracy in India said, “We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside few fights here and there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arab, people in the North look like white and maybe people in the South look like Africans.”

He further added that the people of India respect different languages, religions, food and customs which vary from region to region. “That’s the India that I believe in, where everybody has a place and everybody compromises a little bit,” he said.

Reacting to Pitroda’s controversial remarks, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X, “Sam bhai, I am from the Northeast and I look like an Indian. We are a diverse country – we may look different, but we are all one. Hamare desh ke bare mein thoda to samajh lo!.”

Earlier, Pitroda stoked a controversy while speaking about the concept of inheritance tax prevailing in America and said these are issues that will need to be discussed.

(ANI)