BJP holds protest near Congress office in Delhi; demands apology from party for Pitroda’s remarks

PTI, May 9, 2024, 5:09 PM IST

Leaders and workers of the BJP held a protest near the Congress headquarters at Akbar Road here on Thursday, demanding an apology from the leaders of the party, including Rahul Gandhi, over Sam Pitroda’s controversial remarks.

At the protest, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, diversity is India’s biggest strength and it is held through the common thread of unity.

”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,” Sachdeva said.

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”.

Pitroda 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.

The veteran leader 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”.