On 17th February, the Congress Party distanced itself from the remarks made by Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda regarding China. The grand old party clarified that Pitroda’s statements do not reflect the party’s position on China. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, “The views allegedly expressed by Sam Pitroda on China are not those of the Indian National Congress.”
श्री सैम पित्रोदा द्वारा चीन पर व्यक्त किए गए कथित विचार निश्चित रूप से भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस के विचार नहीं हैं।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 17, 2025
चीन हमारी विदेश नीति, बाह्य सुरक्षा, और आर्थिक क्षेत्र की सबसे बड़ी चुनौती बना हुआ है। कांग्रेस पार्टी ने चीन के प्रति मोदी सरकार के दृष्टिकोण पर बार-बार सवाल… pic.twitter.com/fKd6YNqm5D
Congress clarifies stand on China
The clarification from the Congress Party came after Pitroda questioned the notion of a ‘threat from China’. He stated that it was hard for him to fully understand and claimed the issue is often exaggerated. He further remarked, “There is a tendency in the US to define an enemy, and I believe this is often blown out of proportion.”
Responding to his remarks, Ramesh said, “The alleged views expressed by Mr Sam Pitroda on China are certainly not those of the Indian National Congress. China remains the biggest challenge in our foreign policy, external security, and economic domain. The Congress Party has repeatedly questioned the Modi government’s approach towards China, including the public ‘clean chit’ given by the Prime Minister on 19 June 2020. Our most recent statement on China was issued on 28 January 2025. It is also highly unfortunate that Parliament is not being given the opportunity to discuss this situation and collectively express a resolution to effectively address these challenges.”
What did Sam Pitroda say?
On 17th February, while speaking to IANS, Pitroda claimed, “I don’t know what is the threat from China. I think there is always this thing blown out of (at times) proportion.” He blamed the US for creating a hostile perception of China. He went on to blame India for harbouring an attitude of confrontation towards the Communist regime. Pitroda added, “Our attitude is that of confrontation from day one and that attitude creates enemy and that creates certain support in the country. I think we need to change that pattern. To assume that China is the enemy from day one is just not fair, not just to China but to anybody.”
He continued to heap praises on China. Sam Pitroda concluded, “I think it is time for us to learn to increase communication, collaborate, cooperate and co-create and not have this command and control mindset. China is around, China is growing.”
Congress distanced from Sam Pitroda’s remarks several times
This is not the first time Congress has distanced itself from controversial remarks by Sam Pitroda. In April 2024, while the Lok Sabha Elections were ongoing, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh contradicted the statements of the Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress and Rahul Gandhi’s advisor Sam Pitroda after the latter suggested that a US-like inheritance tax should be brought in India. Ramesh posted his statement on X and said that Sam Pitroda’s comments are his personal view and should not be considered as INC’s views.
“Pitroda expresses his opinions freely on issues he feels strongly about. Surely, in a democracy, an individual is at liberty to discuss, express, and debate his personal views. This does not mean that Pitroda’s views always reflect the position of the Indian National Congress. Many times they do not,” Ramesh said in an X post.
Earlier, in December 2023, Ramesh distanced Congress from Pitroda saying his statement is not an official statement of the Congress Party after Pitroda, while speaking to ANI, targeted the Central government asking if Ram Mandir is the real issue or unemployment is.
