From inheritance tax to Ram mandir: How Sam Pitroda keeps scoring own goals for the Congress

The Congress is once again in hot water, thanks to Sam Pitroda.

The close confidant of the Nehru-Gandhi family has sparked new controversy by advocating for inheritance tax law, as he cited the example of the US. The Congress distanced itself from the remarks, claiming that his views do not always align with the party

But, this isn’t the first time the 81-year-old’s statement has hurt the party.

The Congress’s go-to man in technological matters has frequently put the party in a bind with his bold remarks.

Let’s take a look.

The inheritance tax row

Pitroda discussed American inheritance law in an interview with ANI on Wednesday.

A state tax on the assets a person inherits as part of an inheritance is known as an inheritance tax, as per Mint. The US does not have a central inheritance tax and only a few states have inheritance taxes as high as 20 per cent, according to Indian Express.

Advocating for the inheritance law, Pitroda cited the example of the US by saying, “Nothing wrong in accumulating wealth but to what point? Let me tell you, in America there’s an inheritance tax. So, if let’s say one has $100 million worth of wealth, and when he dies he can transfer probably 45 per cent t his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by government. Now 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,” he said, adding, “In India you don’t have that. If somebody is worth $10 billion and dies his children get $10 billion. The public gets nothing. So these are the kinds of issues that people will have to debate and discuss,” he said as per The Times of India.

His comments came at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accusing the Congress of wanting to redistribute the nation’s wealth, putting the party on the defensive over the subject.

During his poll rallies, Modi used Pitroda’s remarks to justify his broader attack on the Congress, claiming that they have revealed the party’s hidden agenda and that it has drifted so far from the nation’s social and family values that it seeks to legally deprive people of their possessions and lifelong savings that they wish to leave for their children.

PM Modi on the issue of “wealth redistribution,” said, “ Zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi ” is the Opposition party’s mantra to “loot” people.

This has been denied by the Congress, which has declared that it will approach the Election Commission to take action against Modi.

Congress’ general secretary (communications) and senior leader Jairam Ramesh clarified that Pitroda’s views did not reflect the views of the party.

“Sam Pitroda express his views on issues that he considers important, very freely. On this particular issue also he is not reflecting the official position of the Congress. But I think what is happening is, that his comments are torn out of context and they are being sensationalised in order to divert attention from the PM’s deliberate, mischievous and malicious, poison-ridden campaign.”

Pitroda clarified on Wednesday that his remarks regarding the US inheritance tax law were misrepresented to “deflect attention” away from the important points.

Also read: What is inheritance tax that Congress’ Sam Pitroda spoke of, PM Modi slammed? Which countries levy it?

The ‘Hua-to-hua’ controversy

In May 2019, Pitroda caused a stir when he responded, “so what,” to a query about the alleged role of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots .

In response to the BJP’s claim that “instruction” during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots came from Rajiv Gandhi’s office, according to Mint, Pitroda said, “Ab kya hai ’84 ka? Aapne kya kiya 5 saal mein, uski baat kariye. ’84 mein hua to hua. You were voted to create jobs. You were voted to create 200 smart cities. Aapne wo bhi nahi kiya. Aapne kuch nahi kiya isliye aap yahan wahan gup lagate hain. (What about 1984 (riots) now? Talk about what you did in the last five years. What happened in 1984 has happened. So what? You were voted to create jobs. You were voted to create 200 smart cities. You did not even do that. You did nothing, so you keep talking about here and there).”

There was a political backlash after Prime Minister Narendra Modi linked the remarks to Rahul Gandhi. After Rahul Gandhi denounced his remarks, Pitroda issued an apology.

The ‘selfish middle-class’ controversy

In April 2019, Pitroda’s remarks that the middle class should not be selfish and should be ready to pay additional taxes to finance the party’s proposed NYAY scheme — which guarantees a minimum income for every poor household — left the Congress party in a pickle.

“The middle class should not be selfish and have a big heart," he said during a TV interview. As expected, Pitroda’s remarks set off a row with senior party leaders responding to clear the air.

Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had to later clarify that there would be no additional tax burden on the middle class. Rahul Gandhi too stated that funds for the NYAY scheme would not come from people’s taxes.

On IAF strike in Balakot

Pitroda had questioned the veracity of Indian Air Force airstrikes in Balakot following the Pulwama attacks in February 2019.

He also advocated for a dialogue with Pakistan, arguing that it was incorrect to hold all residents of the bordering nation accountable for an attack in which only a small number of people participated, reported Mint.

“I don’t know much about attacks. It happens all the time. The attack happened in Mumbai, also. We could have then reacted and just sent our planes, but that is not the right approach. According to me, that’s not how you deal with the world," Pitroda said, demanding proof of the IAF’s operation.

“Eight people (26/11 terrorists) come and do something, you don’t jump on entire nation (Pakistan). Naive to assume that just because some people came here and attacked, every citizen of that nation is to be blamed. I don’t believe in that way," he had said.

Prime Minister Modi responded to the remarks by accusing Congress of engaging in vote-bank tactics. With a question aimed at Rahul Gandhi, the PM had said, “But can this be above national interest?”

The temple controversy

Again stirring up controversy in June 2023, Pitroda stated that temples would not address India’s issues with unemployment, inflation, health, and education.

“When the entire nation is hung up on Ram Temple and Ram Janmabhoomi, it bothers me… To me, religion is something very personal and national issues are education, employment, growth, economy, inflation, health, environment, pollution,” Pitroda said.

“No one talks about these things. But everyone talks about Ram, Hanuman, and Mandir. I have said that temples are not going to create jobs,” Pitroda said at an event in the US, as per The Times of India. Rahul Gandhi was also present on the occasion.

The BJP condemned the comments, accusing Pitroda and Rahul Gandhi of being “ Hinduphobic .”

Congress dissociated itself from the remarks, claiming they did not represent the party’s position.

Nehru VS Ambedkar on Constitution

Earlier this year, the Congress was labelled an “anti-Dalit” party by the BJP after Pitroda claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru had contributed more to the Constitution’s formulation than BR Ambedkar.

The 81-year-old had tweeted an article by Sudheendra Kulkarni, an aide to BJP leader LK Advani in the past, who left the party recently, claiming that Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, made a greater contribution to the Constitution’s drafting than BR Ambedkar.

Pitroda removed the post later, as per TOI.

With inputs from agencies