NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi’s close aide and Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) chief Sam Pitroda sparked a controversy on Friday, over finding ‘striking similarity’ between people of India and neighbouring nations including Pakistan and Bangladesh and also advocating for ‘neighbourhood diplomacy’ with trouble-torn nations including Nepal.
Pitroda, a Gandhi family loyalist, also called upon government to prioritize India's neighbourhood in its foreign policy.
Sam Pitroda in an exclusive conversation with IANS, said, “Our foreign policy, according to me, must first focus on our neighbourhood. Can we really substantially improve relationships with our neighbours? They are all small. They are going through difficult times.”
“Of course, there is the problem of violence, there is the problem of terrorism. But all that is there. At the end of the day, in the neighbourhood, there is a common gene pool. I’ve been to Pakistan, and I must tell you; I felt at home. I’ve been to Bangladesh, I’ve been to Nepal, and I feel at home. I don’t feel like I’m in a foreign country. They look like me, they talk like me. They like my songs, and they eat my food. I must learn to live with them in peace and harmony, ” he further told IANS.
Sam Pitroda, who rose to prominence in the 1980s as a technocrat close to then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has long been a trusted adviser to the Gandhi family. His latest remarks comes in strong contrast to his earlier controversial statement where he courted controversy with racist references while speaking about India's diversity and also drew parallels between South Indians and South Africans.
Pitroda's comments come at a time when Bangladesh is navigating political and economic turbulence, and Nepal faces internal instability.