adhir-in-hot-waters-for-defending-pitroda-s-remarks-citing-indian-diversity

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is under scrutiny after defending Sam Pitroda's controversial analogy, drawing ire for his classification of Indians into racial categories during a recent interview. 

Chowdhury's remarks come amid escalating criticism following Pitroda's comparison of Indians from various regions to ethnic groups like Chinese, Arabs, Whites, and Africans.

When questioned about his stance on Pitroda's statement, Chowdhury responded, "I don't want to comment on anyone's personal opinion. Our country has Proto-Australian, N**** class, Mongoloid class. Our topography gives rise to different kinds of appearances of our people."

#WATCH | West Bengal: Congress candidate from Berhampore Lok Sabha seat, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, "The way PM Narendra Modi had declared his victory even before contesting elections, things have now changed and he is now rattled. He can see that the result will not turn out… pic.twitter.com/7DOtPD8c3a

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2024

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly condemned Chowdhury's comments, with national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleging, "It's not just Sam Pitroda but the entire Congress that makes racist comments."

Poonawalla further pressed the Congress party on whether they would take action against Chowdhury for his statement.

Chowdhury's remarks surfaced a day after Pitroda's contentious statement, prompting the BJP to capitalize on the situation to criticise the Congress party and demand a response from Rahul Gandhi.

In the aftermath of Pitroda's remarks, Congress distanced itself from the controversy, and Pitroda resigned as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. The BJP labeled the Congress party as "racist" in light of Pitroda's comments on race and ethnicity.