UP CM Yogi over Sam Pitroda's 'racist' remarks: Congress should apologise to the country

Yogi Adityanath/ File photo

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday demanded that Congress should apologise to the country, reported news agency ANI.

His move comes after Congress' Sam Pitroda stirred controversy by making statements on India's diversity on Wednesday.

Speaking with ANI, Yogi said, "He (Sam Pitroda) is Congress' 'buddhidata' and he is displaying the party's policy of divide and rule. Congress is responsible for the partition in 1947, it is responsible for the horrors of partition. Even after the independence, it has committed the sin of dividing the country in the name of caste, region, and language. Sam Pitroda's remark is highly condemnable. Congress party should apologise to the country for the things it is making Sam Pitroda say."

Describing Congress' mindset as dangerous, the Uttar Pradesh CM further added, "The way Congress is trying to divide the four parts (North, South, East and West) of the country based on skin colour shows the dangerous mindset of Congress. The statement is highly shameful and condemnable. The statement by Sam Pitroda also insults the 140 crore Indians and Congress should apologise for this."

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 the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arab, people in the North look like white, and maybe people in the South look like Africans."

On Wednesday late evening, Sam Pitroda resigned as the Indian Overseas Congress chief after his racist statement gathered controversy from both allies and opposition.