Tag: Sam Pitroda

  • PM Modi’s Sharp Rebuke On Pitroda’s Remarks, Questions Congress’ Intentions Towards President Murmu |

    New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a shot at the Congress on Sam Pitroda’s ‘racist’ remark and said that India would not tolerate insults on the basis of colour. Modi further slammed the top leader of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, saying that he has come to realise that his party attempted to defeat President Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election because of her dark skin colour.  

    As Pitroda’s comments sparked controversy, Modi, in his public rally in Telangana’s Warangal, asked, “Will the ability of people be decided in my country on the basis of skin colour?”  

    The reported comments by Sam Pitroda that people in the East in India resembled the Chinese while those from the South looked like Africans have sparked a row among the political parties, although Congress has disassociated itself from the remarks, calling them ‘unfortunate and unacceptable.’  

    “I am angry today. If anyone abuses me, I don’t get angry. I can put up with that. However, the philosopher of ‘shehzada’ (Rahul Gandhi) gave such a big abuse, which has filled me with anger,” remarked PM Modi.  

    PM Modi attacked Rahul Gandhi by referring to Pitroda as his uncle. PM said, “I learned today that ‘shehzada’s’ uncle resides in the US. His uncle serves as his mentor and philosopher.”  

    He added that Pitroda has revealed a big secret: Indians with darker skin tones are all from Africa. Holding the former Congress president accountable, Modi said that Rahul Gandhi must answer. 

    Indicating that these comments have insulted many countrymen, the PM said that despite all our different skin colours, we all worship Lord Krishna, whose skin colour matches ours. 

  • Swami Speaks: PM Modi doing more wealth redistribution than Gandhis did when in power – The Economic Times Video

    Explore the differences between Rahul Gandhi’s and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approaches to wealth redistribution. Join us as we delve into their policies and decipher the core of the matter with Swaminathan Aiyar, Consultant Editor at The Economic Times. Swamy will guide us through the ideologies, strategies, and implications shaping India’s socio-economic fabric. Watch!

  • If EVMs not ‘fixed’ before Lok Sabha polls, BJP can win over 400 seats: Sam Pitroda

    NEW DELHI: Raising concerns over electronic voting machines, Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Thursday said the BJP can win more than 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections if issues associated with EVMs are not “fixed”. The elections will be about deciding the destiny of India, he told PTI-Video in an interview.

    While the Election Commission has always dismissed apprehensions over EVMs and also held hackathons to clear any doubts, some opposition leaders, including from the Congress, have been repeatedly raising the issue of EVMs allegedly being open to manipulation.

    Many in the Congress have also asserted, including after the recent assembly polls in which the party lost some key heartland states, that they trust these machines. However, the Congress and other opposition parties have been demanding 100 per cent Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and that the slips should be given to voters rather than falling into boxes. Congress leader Pitroda also said that his recent comments on the Ram temple in Ayodhya were “twisted” and asserted that religion is a personal matter and should not be mixed with politics.

    He was quoted in reports as saying it bothers him that the entire nation is hung up on the Ram temple.

    On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s upcoming Manipur-to-Mumbai Bharat Nyay Yatra ahead of the polls, Pitroda said, “The next election is about the future of India. What kind of nation we want to build.” “Do you want to build a nation articulated in our Constitution which respects all religions, autonomy of our institutions, which allows our civil society to function, or you want to build the nation based on one religion dominating?” he asked. Expressing concern over electronic voting machines (EVMs), Pitroda cited a report by NGO ‘The Citizens’ Commission on Elections’, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur, and said that the main recommendations of the report were to modify the current design of the VVPAT system to make it truly “voter-verified”.

    “I waited for the Election Commission to respond but when it didn’t happen I decided to speak. It has nothing to do with the fact that elections in five states are over and the 2024 election is coming,” Pitroda said.

    “I feel there is a trust deficit based on this report. And, the Election Commission must respond to rebuild the trust,” he said.

    The Congress leader said he believes that democracy is derailed and “we are becoming too authoritarian”. “It’s all about one-man show,” he said.

    Asked about the BJP’s claim that it would win more than 400 seats in the general elections, he said,” More power to them if they think they can do it. Great. That is for the country to decide. EVM needs to be fixed before the next election. If EVM is not fixed, 400 may be true. If EVM is fixed 400 may not be true.”

    On his comments about the Ram temple, Pitroda said, “My comments on the Ram mandir got twisted. I am basically protecting the Constitution. I am saying that religion is a very personal matter, leave it to the people. Of course you celebrate, people should celebrate what they want to. But don’t complicate with politics.”

    Asked about opposition INDIA bloc, of which the Congress is also a part, not picking Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial face, Pitroda said, “The INDIA alliance is not projecting anybody for the PM post.”

    The alliance has collectively decided that “we get to that after the election because right now the priority is to mobilise 60 per cent of the people who don’t vote for the BJP”, he said and added that the members of the bloc will decide as a group who should be the prime ministerial candidate.

    “Collectively, the group decided that it will not project anybody as its PM candidate. Those are two out of how many who pitched (Congress president Mallikarjun) Kharge’s name. In a coalition like that there are bound to be some differences. That’s the beauty of a coalition,” Pitroda said.

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is the TMC supremo, and her Delhi counterpart and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal had pitched Kharge’s name as the bloc’s prime ministerial face at its meeting in Delhi on December 19.

    On the opposition face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pitroda said, “I don’t think that’s the right question to be asked. It is not a presidential election, it is a parliamentary election.”

  • ‘PM Modi thinks he knows more than God’: Rahul Gandhi in US

    By PTI

    SANTA CLARA: There are people in India who think they know more than God and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “one such specimen”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said.

    Reacting sharply to Gandhi’s targeting of Prime Minister Modi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday described the former Congress president as a “fake Gandhi” and as a person “who knows nothing” but has become an expert on everything.

    Speaking at the ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ event organised by Indian Overseas Congress USA in Santa Clara in the US state of California on Tuesday, Gandhi said these people are “absolutely convinced” that they know everything and can explain history to historians, science to scientists and warfare to the army.

    “The world is too big and complicated for any person to know everything. That is the disease – There is a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced they know everything. They think they know even more than God. They can sit with God and explain to him what’s going on. And of course, our prime minister is one such specimen. If you sat Modiji with God, he will explain to God how the universe works and God will get confused about what have I created,” he said, evoking peals of laughter from hundreds of his Indian American supporters.

    “They think they can explain history to historians, science to scientists and warfare to the army. But at the core of it is mediocrity. They’re not ready to listen!” he said.

    Responding to Gandhi’s speech, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi claimed that the Congress leader’s knowledge of history did not go beyond his family.

    “It is funny how someone who knows nothing is suddenly an expert on everything. A man whose history knowledge does not go beyond his family is talking about history,” the senior BJP leader said in New Delhi.

    “A man who claimed to produce gold out of potatoes is giving lectures about science and a man who never ventured beyond family affairs now wants to lead India’s warfare,” Joshi said.

    “No Mr. Fake Gandhi! The core of India is its culture. Unlike you, who use foreign soil to tarnish the country, Indians are very proud of their history and can very well defend their geography,” the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.

    ALSO READ | Khalistani supporters heckle Rahul Gandhi at an event in US 

    Gandhi’s event was attended by community members not only from Silicon Valley but also from Los Angeles and Canada, said President of Indian Overseas Congress Mohinder Singh Gilzian.

    Gandhi, 52, told the Indian Americans that the idea of India was under attack and is being challenged.

    Talking about Sengol row, Gandhi said that Modi and his government cannot address issues like unemployment, price rise, the spread of anger and hatred.

    “The new Parliament building is a distraction. The BJP can’t really discuss these issues so they have to do the sceptre thing. Lying down and doing all that. Aren’t you happy that I’m not lying down?,” Gandhi said, referring to the Sengol that was installed in the new Parliament building by Modi on Sunday.

    He applauded the Indian Americans for holding up the Indian flag in America, showing the American people what it means to be an Indian by respecting their culture and learning from them while also allowing the Americans to learn from them. “You make us all proud. When we think of our country, you are all our ambassadors. When America says Indian people are extremely intelligent. Indian people are masters of IT, Indian people are respectful. All these ideas that have come, they’ve come because of you and because of your actions and your behaviours,” he said.

    Gandhi said the poor and people from minority communities feel helpless today in India.

    “Indians do not believe in hating each other. A small group of people who control the system and the media are stoking the flames of hatred,” he said.

    “Congress’ stand on the Women’s Reservation Bill is clear. We’re committed to getting the bill passed. We have to give women their deserved space in the political system, businesses and running the country,” he said.

    A few Khalistani supporters tried to disrupt Gandhi’s speech but were taken out by the security personnel.

    Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda, who accompanied Gandhi at the event, said that India needs a “young mind” like Gandhi to lead the country.

    “We need someone with an open mind. We need someone who has broader exposure, and global experience. And that’s the reason we are all here meeting and interacting with a large number of people,” he said.

    “I know that the road ahead is pretty complicated. It’s not that simple. Our idea of India is very different,” Pitroda said.

    Gandhi arrived here on Tuesday on a three-city US tour during which he will interact with the Indian diaspora and meet American lawmakers.

    Last week, Pitroda said Gandhi’s visit is aimed at promoting shared values and a vision of “real democracy.” “The purpose of his (Gandhi’s) trip is to connect, interact and begin a new conversation with various individuals, institutions and media, including the Indian diaspora that is growing in numbers in the United States and abroad to promote the shared values and vision of the real democracy with a focus on freedom, inclusion, sustainability, justice, peace and opportunities world over,” Pitroda said in a statement.

    SANTA CLARA: There are people in India who think they know more than God and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “one such specimen”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said.

    Reacting sharply to Gandhi’s targeting of Prime Minister Modi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday described the former Congress president as a “fake Gandhi” and as a person “who knows nothing” but has become an expert on everything.

    Speaking at the ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ event organised by Indian Overseas Congress USA in Santa Clara in the US state of California on Tuesday, Gandhi said these people are “absolutely convinced” that they know everything and can explain history to historians, science to scientists and warfare to the army.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    “The world is too big and complicated for any person to know everything. That is the disease – There is a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced they know everything. They think they know even more than God. They can sit with God and explain to him what’s going on. And of course, our prime minister is one such specimen. If you sat Modiji with God, he will explain to God how the universe works and God will get confused about what have I created,” he said, evoking peals of laughter from hundreds of his Indian American supporters.

    “They think they can explain history to historians, science to scientists and warfare to the army. But at the core of it is mediocrity. They’re not ready to listen!” he said.

    Responding to Gandhi’s speech, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi claimed that the Congress leader’s knowledge of history did not go beyond his family.

    “It is funny how someone who knows nothing is suddenly an expert on everything. A man whose history knowledge does not go beyond his family is talking about history,” the senior BJP leader said in New Delhi.

    “A man who claimed to produce gold out of potatoes is giving lectures about science and a man who never ventured beyond family affairs now wants to lead India’s warfare,” Joshi said.

    “No Mr. Fake Gandhi! The core of India is its culture. Unlike you, who use foreign soil to tarnish the country, Indians are very proud of their history and can very well defend their geography,” the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.

    ALSO READ | Khalistani supporters heckle Rahul Gandhi at an event in US 

    Gandhi’s event was attended by community members not only from Silicon Valley but also from Los Angeles and Canada, said President of Indian Overseas Congress Mohinder Singh Gilzian.

    Gandhi, 52, told the Indian Americans that the idea of India was under attack and is being challenged.

    Talking about Sengol row, Gandhi said that Modi and his government cannot address issues like unemployment, price rise, the spread of anger and hatred.

    “The new Parliament building is a distraction. The BJP can’t really discuss these issues so they have to do the sceptre thing. Lying down and doing all that. Aren’t you happy that I’m not lying down?,” Gandhi said, referring to the Sengol that was installed in the new Parliament building by Modi on Sunday.

    He applauded the Indian Americans for holding up the Indian flag in America, showing the American people what it means to be an Indian by respecting their culture and learning from them while also allowing the Americans to learn from them. “You make us all proud. When we think of our country, you are all our ambassadors. When America says Indian people are extremely intelligent. Indian people are masters of IT, Indian people are respectful. All these ideas that have come, they’ve come because of you and because of your actions and your behaviours,” he said.

    Gandhi said the poor and people from minority communities feel helpless today in India.

    “Indians do not believe in hating each other. A small group of people who control the system and the media are stoking the flames of hatred,” he said.

    “Congress’ stand on the Women’s Reservation Bill is clear. We’re committed to getting the bill passed. We have to give women their deserved space in the political system, businesses and running the country,” he said.

    A few Khalistani supporters tried to disrupt Gandhi’s speech but were taken out by the security personnel.

    Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda, who accompanied Gandhi at the event, said that India needs a “young mind” like Gandhi to lead the country.

    “We need someone with an open mind. We need someone who has broader exposure, and global experience. And that’s the reason we are all here meeting and interacting with a large number of people,” he said.

    “I know that the road ahead is pretty complicated. It’s not that simple. Our idea of India is very different,” Pitroda said.

    Gandhi arrived here on Tuesday on a three-city US tour during which he will interact with the Indian diaspora and meet American lawmakers.

    Last week, Pitroda said Gandhi’s visit is aimed at promoting shared values and a vision of “real democracy.” “The purpose of his (Gandhi’s) trip is to connect, interact and begin a new conversation with various individuals, institutions and media, including the Indian diaspora that is growing in numbers in the United States and abroad to promote the shared values and vision of the real democracy with a focus on freedom, inclusion, sustainability, justice, peace and opportunities world over,” Pitroda said in a statement.