Scores of party leaders and workers of the BJP held a protest over former chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda's controversial 'racist' remarks near the Congress headquarters at Akbar Road in the national capital on Thursday, demanding an apology from the leaders of the party, including Rahul Gandhi.
Party workers were seen holding posters saying "Racist remarks won't work, won't work" and "Rahul Gandhi apologise, apologise" during the protest. Stating that diversity is India's biggest strength and it is held through the common thread of unity, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva remarked, "But the racist statement of the Congress leader abuses our unity and integrity. This statement by Pitroda is not spontaneous. After seeing the ground shifting from under their feet after three phases of the Lok Sabha polls, Congress leaders are now resorting to racist remarks." The protesters demanded an apology from Congress leaders, including former party chief Gandhi, for insulting the people of the country and Indians living abroad. Pitroda resigned as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday after his controversial remarks spurred the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to label the Congress "racist". He stoked a major controversy with his remarks during a podcast where he cited ethnic and racial identities like Chinese, Africans, Arabs and Whites to describe the physical appearance of Indians from different parts of the country.
BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who was also present at the protest, said that Sam Pitroda's statement is an insult to the country and no countryman will tolerate it. "The Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that abusing BJP, abusing me will be tolerated but if 140 crore people of the country are abused then it will not be tolerated. Sam Pitroda's statement is not just a statement but an insult to the country and every nationalist is on the streets against this statement," Bidhuri said.
The veteran leader Pitroda was an advisor to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and has been closely associated with Rahul Gandhi, accompanying him during his foreign visits. As the BJP has made Pitroda's comments a poll issue, the Congress has distanced itself from his remarks, describing those as "most unfortunate and unacceptable".
