NPCC rejects Sam Pitroda’s analogies, criticizes BJP for politicizing issue

The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has issued a statement today, echoing the stance of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in rejecting the analogies put forth by Sam Pitroda to illustrate India’s diversity.

It may be noted that in an interview, Pitroda spoke on unity in diversity, stating that despite physical differences among Indians from different regions, everyone has a place.

“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,” Pitroda said, triggering a major controversy.

According to the NPCC communication cell, the analogies, deemed unacceptable and unfortunate, were made by Pitroda in his personal capacity and has “nothing to do with the Congress Party, as has been clearly communicated through appropriate party channels.”

Furthermore, the NPCC has expressed regret over the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) attempts to politicize the issue despite this clarification. The party sees such actions as “an indicator of their utter desperation in the face of an impending electoral rout.”

The NPCC has also highlighted what it perceives as hypocrisy on the part of the BJP, pointing to several instances in the recent past where BJP leaders have made racially loaded statements without facing significant official censure from the party.

“Racially loaded statements from Union Minister Giriraj Singh in 2015, former BJP MP Tarun Vijay in 2017 and Santosh Ranjan Rai, the former national vice president of BJP’s youth wing in 2021, are few of the cases in point,” it said.

In reaffirming its commitment to India’s rich diversity, the NPCC reaffirmed its commitment in upholding the interests of all sections of society, irrespective of color or creed.

Mokokchung Times