Sam Pitroda, chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, has clarified that his statement on US inheritance tax was twisted to ‘deflect attention’ from core issues.
Pitroda’s clarification came after the Congress party itself distanced from his remarks and BJP leaders slammed him over his comments on the redistribution of wealth.
Pitroda had reportedly advocated an inheritance tax law similar to the one in the US, which drew criticism from BJP leaders including the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
Addressing a poll rally at Chhattisgarh’s Surguja, the Prime Minister targeted the Congress party on Pitroda’s remarks and said the grand old party’s ‘dangerous intentions’ in the election manifesto are coming out in the open.
Pitroda had said in an interview that in the US, there is an inheritance tax where if someone has 100 million USD worth of wealth, they can only transfer 45% to their children, while 55% is taken by the government. He opined that this is a fair law because it ensures that wealth is not concentrated in the hands of a few.
Pitroda’s statement assumes significance because Prime Minister Modi had accused Congress of planning to redistribute the wealth of people among ‘those with more children,’ a charge that was denied by the grand old party.
This is not the first time that Pitroda, considered close to the Gandhi family, has put the Congress party in the dock. Many of his previous statements didn’t go well with his party while being criticized by the BJP.
In May 2019, Pitroda set off a storm by replying ‘so what’ to a question on alleged involvement of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
In February 2019, Pitroda questioned the veracity of Balakot air strikes by the Indian Air Force in the aftermath of the Pulwama attacks.
In June 2023, Pitroda sparked a row when he said that temples were not going to solve India’s unemployment, education, and health issues.
In January 2024, the BJP called Congress an ‘anti-Dalit’ party, after Pitroda said that Jawaharlal Nehru contributed more to the drafting of the constitution than BR Ambedkar.
In April 2019, Pitroda left the Congress party in a soup when he said that the middle class should not be selfish and, instead, be prepared to shell out more taxes to fund the party’s proposed NYAY scheme, a scheme promising a guarantee minimum income for every poor household.
