Slam Sam

Congress leader Pitroda’s yet another controversial bite offers more teeth to the BJP

Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda's yet another faux pas has sent his parent party the Indian National Congress, now fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha polls, on the back foot. In an interview, Pitroda reportedly advocated a US-type inheritance tax law in India. Many years ago, India had a form of inheritance tax called estate duty that was later abolished by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1985. Interestingly, Pitroda was advisor to Rajiv then, and later continued his association with the Gandhi family and the Congress.

Reacting sharply, the BJP said the Congress had its eyes on the wealth of all Indians, especially the middle class, for redistribution. Inheritance tax is charged on the property/assets/wealth an individual receives as part of an inheritance. Pitroda’s comments came as a loose ball for the big hitters in the BJP camp who promptly connected with the neo-wealth creators, the middle class voters.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah came down heavily on the Congress in their Lok Sabha campaign speeches.

Fresh from the attack that the Congress had planned to redistribute 'your wealth to those having more children', Modi said in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday that the advisor to the royal family's prince, and the advisor to the father of the prince, had now asked for imposing more taxes on the middle class, and “the property you have accumulated will not be given to your children but the Congress will snatch it away from you”.

The Congress quickly distanced itself from Pitroda’s remarks, calling it an individual opinion that did not reflect the party’s policies. Pitroda said he had mentioned US inheritance tax only as an example in a normal conversation on TV. “I said these are the kind of issues people will have to discuss and debate. This has nothing to do with the policy of any party, including Congress,” he clarified.

But neither Pitroda nor the party spokespersons could prevent the damage at the hands of the BJP, which is unlikely to give up the issue in the campaign. Pitroda had done it before, too. In 2019, he had advised the middle class to have a big heart to contribute more in taxes. PM Modi had lambasted him, saying the Congress wanted to punish the middle class by imposing high taxes and take the country back to the ‘licence raj’. Pitroda’s ‘hua to hua’ (it happens) remarks on the anti-Sikh riots had sparked a big controversy, for which he later apologised. Last year, his remarks on the Ram Mandir had come under heavy criticism.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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