Warangal: Following Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s “racist remarks” that stoked a massive row, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the people of the country will not tolerate insults on the basis of the colour of the skin.
Addressing a rally in Warangal, PM Modi demanded an answer from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. ‘Shehzade aapko jawaab dena padega’. My country will not tolerate the disrespect of my countrymen on the basis of their skin colour and Modi will never tolerate this…” he said.
PM Modi said, “I was thinking a lot that (President) Droupadi Murmu who has a very good reputation and is the daughter of Adivasi family, then why is Congress trying so hard to defeat her but today I got to know the reason. I got to know that there is an uncle in America who is the philosophical guide of ‘Shehzada’ and just like the third umpire in cricket this ‘Shehzada’ takes advice from the third umpire.
#WATCH | Addressing a public gathering in Warangal, Telangana, PM Modi says “…’Shehzade aapko jawaab dena padega’. My country will not tolerate the disrespect of my countrymen on the basis of their skin colour and Modi will never tolerate this…” pic.twitter.com/e22GgRbctj
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2024
“This philosophical uncle said that those who have black skin are from Africa. This means that you are abusing several people of the country on the basis of their skin colour…” the Prime Minister said.
“… Where will they take the country? No matter what skin colour we have, we are the people who worship Lord Krishna…,” he said. Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda ignited a firestorm while speaking on the diversity of India referring to how people in the South “look like Africans and those in the East look like Arabs and those in the East look like Chinese.”
Pitroda, in an interview to ‘The Statesman’, while reflecting upon the democracy in India said, “We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside a few fights here and there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people in East look like Chinese, people in West look like Arab, people in the North look like white, and maybe people in South look like Africans.”
Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh posted on X to say that the analogies drawn by Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India’s diversity are “most unfortunate and unacceptable.”
“The Indian National Congress completely dissociates itself from these analogies” he said. Earlier too, Pitroda had stoked a controversy while speaking about the concept of inheritance tax prevailing in America stating that such issues need to be discussed.
“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by the government. That’s an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair,” Pitroda had said.
He had later sought to downplay the issue saying he had only cited inheritance tax in the US as an example. Congress officially distanced itself from Pitroda’s comments saying that they did not reflect the view of the party at all times
Meanwhile, PM Modi in Warangal stepping up his attacks on Congress, came down heavily on the party for making fake promises to the farmers and said, “Nobody knows it better than Telangana how Congress deceives people. Congress had promised to waive off farm loans. Now they are delaying it until the Lok Sabha elections are over so that they can keep that promise hanging in mid-air. They swear on our Gods to keep their promises, while on the other hand, they demean Sanatana Dharma…”
The Prime Minister also targeted the Congress party for its formula of a new Prime Minister every year. He said, “No one can forget the sins of the Congress central government of 10 years ago. Every few days, a scam worth thousands of crores of rupees came to light. There were serial bomb blasts in big cities of the country… This time INDI alliance has come up with a formula of five years five PM. Just imagine what will happen to the country if they get power. Every year there is a new PM, second year, second PM, third year, and third PM? What good can they do for the country…”
Putting forward the ideology of Viksit India, the PM said, “Today in front of you all is the dream of ‘Viksit India’ and ‘Viksit Telangana’… There is instability, unrest and crisis everywhere in the world. In such a situation, can the command of the country be given to the wrong hands? This is why the country is saying ‘Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar’…”
The PM also said, “Two things have become clear after the third phase of elections, first: The public is taking NDA’s ‘Vijay Rath’ forward at a fast pace. Second, Congress is searching their seats with magnifying glasses.”
He added, “After seeing your enthusiasm in Telangana, today I can say one more thing, Congress’s usual magnifying glass will not be sufficient to find their seats in the fourth phase. Congress will have to use a microscope to find its seats…”
Meanwhile, the PM also took to his official X handle and tweeted about his visit to Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam. He tweeted, “This morning at Vemulawada, I prayed at the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam. As the MP from Kashi, the connection with this Temple felt even greater. I prayed for the good health and prosperity of my fellow 140 crore Indians.”