"Pitroda's statement an assault on India's unity, integrity": BJP's MP chief

UJJAIN: The BJP's state chief VD Sharma on Thursday came down heavily on former Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda over his racist rant against Indians saying the latter's statement was an assault on the unity and integrity of the country.

Speaking to ANI on Thursday in the Ujjain district, where he offered prayers at the Mahakaleshwar temple and sought the blessings of Baba Mahakal (Lord Shiva), the BJP state chief said, "Whatever Pitroda said was an assault on the unity and integrity of the country. He inflicted a deep wound on the plural and sovereign character of the country. Hence, it is important that such people are prosecuted in accordance with the law of the land. The Congress and its so-called leaders have been putting a taint on the country's image on foreign soil. This statement has exposed the Congress' character and mentality."

He said the people would give a befitting reply to Pitroda, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections

"The people will give a fitting riposte to Sam Pitroda, Congress and Rahul Gandhi in the elections. The Congress will get a response it deserves," the BJP leader added.

Stirring a major controversy in the middle of Lok Sabha polls, Pitroda unleashed a racist rant while expanding on people of different ethnicities who made India their home.

Pitroda, in an interview with 'The Statesman', 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."

Faced with fury from the BJP and criticism from a cross-section of Opposition leaders, Pitroda tendered his resignation as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday.