Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC), has expressed support for the party’s stance on redistributing wealth and urged the enactment of an inheritance tax law in India. Emphasizing the importance of addressing wealth disparity, Pitroda discussed the concept of inheritance tax as it exists in the United States.
“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45% to his children, 55% 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 said.
Pitroda highlighted the lack of such a law in India, where the wealthy can pass on their substantial fortunes to their descendants without contributing to the public sphere. He stressed the need for discussions and debates on such policies to ensure fairer distribution of wealth.
“In India, you don’t have that. If somebody is worth $10 billion and he dies, his children get $10 billion and the public gets nothing… So these are the kinds of issues people will have to debate and discuss. When we talk about redistributing wealth, we are talking about new policies and new programs that are in the interest of the people and not in the interest of the super-rich only,” he added.
Pitroda also expressed concerns about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks on the Congress manifesto, questioning his cognitive abilities. “I have some concerns about his brain,” he stated when asked for his opinion on the Prime Minister’s criticism.
Pitroda emphasized that wealth distribution is a policy issue and called for constructive discussions rather than unfounded accusations.
“This is a policy issue. The Congress party would frame a policy through which the wealth distribution would be better. We don’t have a minimum wage (in India). If we come up with a minimum wage in the country saying you must pay so much money to the poor, that’s the distribution of wealth. Today, rich people don’t pay their peons, servants, and home help enough but they spend that money on vacation in Dubai and London… When you talk about the distribution of wealth, it is not that you sit on a chair and say I have this much money and I’ll be distributing it to everybody,” Pitroda said.
“It’s naive to think like that. The PM of a country thinks like that… I have some concerns about his brain,” he added.
Pitroda further criticized Prime Minister Modi’s comments equating the Congress manifesto to a document of the Muslim League and denounced him as a “pathological liar.”
“I feel ashamed of my Prime Minister. His team is lying about the manifesto. He is a pathological liar. How can they lie through their teeth and feel comfortable,” Pitroda said.
Addressing the Prime Minister’s recent remarks about Muslims having more children, Pitroda expressed his dismay and accused Modi of spreading fear among the populace.
“How can you insult our women… Muslims really don’t have more children. He (PM Modi) can say whatever he likes, he also has moral responsibility. He is not above the law. It looks like you can’t comprehend, I think it is maybe due to fear, panic has been set in after the first phase. India is angry at the PM’s comment,” he said.
