BJP calls Sam Pitroda’s reinstatement as IOC chief a ‘poll gimmick’, says PM predicted it

The BJP on Wednesday (June 26) lashed out at the Congress after the party reinstated senior leader Sam Pitroda as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress.

Even though the Congress clarified that Pitroda has been called back on the assurance that he will not create controversies – with the same being the reason behind his ouster as Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) chief – the saffron party said removing the senior leader from the overseas unit was just a “poll gimmick” for the Grand Old Party.

PM predicted Pitroda’s rehabilitation: BJP

The BJP said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had predicted Pitroda’s reinstatement much before. The party shared a clip of Modi's interview during the Lok Sabha poll campaign, in which he had said the Congress will rehabilitate Pitroda.

“As Prime Minister Modi anticipated, the Congress' sacking of Sam Pitroda was merely an election gimmick. He has now been reinstated as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, exposing the hypocrisy of the Congress party and its leaders," the BJP said on X.

Pitroda, said to be a close confidant of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had to step down as the chairman of IOC on May 8 after his controversial statements, especially a racial analogy made to highlight India's diversity during the poll campaign put his party on the defensive.

The Congress reinstated him on Wednesday.

‘No more controversies,’ says Congress

After his reinstatement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Pitroda has clarified to the party the context in which he made the statements and assured that he will avoid sparking similar controversies in the future.

“During the recent election campaign Sam Pitroda had made some statements and comments that were totally unacceptable to the Indian National Congress. By mutual consent he stepped down as Chairman of Overseas Indian Congress. Subsequently he clarified the context in which statements were made and how they were later distorted by the Modi campaign. The Congress President has reappointed him on the assurance that he will not in future leave room for such controversies to arise,” Ramesh posted on X.

Pitroda’s statements on ‘inheritance tax’ and racial analogy comparing northeast Indians with the Chinese during the Lok Sabha polls had invited sharp rebuke from the BJP. They had also forced the Congress to distance itself from its seasoned office-bearer, who later resigned in a bid to defuse the crisis.

Modi had then said in an interview, shared by the BJP on Wednesday, that the Congress deliberately floats such theories through leaders like Pitroda.

"They have made their US-based guru resign now. They will bring him back after a few days," the prime minister had said.