Congress on Backfoot over Pitroda Remark; Under Attack from BJP, Party in Damage Control Mode

The remark of Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda on wealth re-distribution created unease within the Congress as it triggered a war of words between the Congress and the BJP, which also questioned the efficacy of Congress's manifesto taking a dig at the rival party.

New Delhi:The Congress on Wednesday tried to control damage over senior leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks related to wealth re-distribution and said the party was not of the same view. The controversial views expressed by Pitroda, head of the Indian Overseas Congress, in a media interview flagged the “need for a US type inheritance tax in India and suggested that 50 percent of people’s wealth should go to the public.”

The remarks came a day ahead of Rahul Gandhi attending a party conclave on the welfare of SC, ST and the need for caste census. The remarks created unease within the grand old party as the entire 2024 Lok Sabha polls campaign is based on the concept of social justice but the comments gave the BJP an opportunity to twist the Congress’ promises.

“Those may be his personal views. Those are not the party’s views. We are for social justice and have made 25 guarantees for the same in our manifesto,” party veteran and Congress candidate in Bihar’s Katihar Lok Sabha seat Tariq Anwar told ETV Bharat.

“The BJP is trying to malign our manifesto by saying the Congress will take away the wealth of people and give it to the poor. This is false,” he said. According to Anwar, a former member of the Congress Working Committee, the party knows what it is talking about.

“We have been saying that the policies of the Modi government have created a big gap between the rich and the poor in the country. The rich have become richer while the poor have become poorer. Hence, the party will try to bridge this economic disparity through social welfare schemes. The party will utilize the revenue earned by the government towards a more just redistribution and will not take away the wealth of the poor and middle- class people. That is a false campaign against us by the BJP. We have been saying that today 40 percent of the country’s wealth is with a few rich people while the remaining 60 percent wealth is distributed among the masses. There has to be a balance in wealth distribution,” said Anwar.

“The BJP keeps raising questions about how we will fund the various social welfare guarantees that we have made. I just want to remind them that the central government waived off loans of big corporates worth Rs 16 lakh crores. The same money could have been used for the marginalized sections of society,” he said.

According to Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate the BJP was worried over the impact that the grand old party’s manifesto was having among the people and was therefore trying to spread falsehoods about it.

“Such lies by the PM expose his anti-poor stand. Nowhere does our manifesto mention any such thing like taking away wealth from people and giving it away to the poor. The PM may continue to discredit our promises but we are committed to raising the living standards of all those who are marginalized in society so they too can join the national mainstream,” Shrinate told ETV Bharat.

“Today just 1 percent of the country’s super rich have 40 percent of the nation’s wealth. As many as 22 persons have wealth equivalent to that shared between 78 crore people. Today, the poor constituting 50 percent pay 64 percent of the GST imposed on the nation. The poor and the middle class are reeling under high prices of essential items, reduced incomes and joblessness. All this needs a course correction,” she added.

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