New Delhi:

The Congress has distanced itself from senior leader Sam Pitroda’s “China is not our enemy” remark amid massive BJP backlash. Congress’s Jairam Ramesh, who is also the party’s communications in-charge, said in a post on X that Mr Pitroda’s views did not reflect the party’s stand. “The views reported by Shri Sam Pitroda on China are certainly not the views of the Indian National Congress. China remains our biggest foreign policy, external security, and economic challenge,” his post read. 

Mr Pitroda, whose frequent out-of-turn comments keep landing his party in controversies, had said in a recent interview that there is a need to change India’s mindset and New Delhi must stop assuming that China is the enemy.

“I think we need to change that pattern to assume that China is the enemy from day one. It is not just to China, but to everyone… I don’t know what is the threat from China. I think this issue is often blown out of proportion because the US has the habit of defining an enemy,” he had said in an interview to news agency IANS.

Mr Pitroda’s come on the heels of a massive controversy over his earlier comment on the country’s diversity that saw him out of office – the Chairman of Overseas Indian Congress — for over a month last year. The comment had triggered allegations of racism and colonial mindset.

He was reinstated in June, after explaining the context of his remarks and claiming that the BJP had maliciously misinterpreted it. At the time, Jairam Ramesh had said that Mr Pitroda had “given an assurance” that he would, in future, leave no room for controversy. Mr Pitroda vociferously contradicted it, saying it was Mr Ramesh’s personal opinion.

This time, Mr Pitroda’s remark flies in the face of the Rahul Gandhi’s assertion in the parliament that India had lost a part of its territory to China, which the government has robustly denied.

The BJP today called Mr Pitroda’s remarks a “very deep blow to India’s identity, diplomacy and sovereignty”.

Pradeep Bhandari, a BJP spokesperson, pointed out that Mr Pitroda is a close aide of Rahul Gandhi and accused the Congress of prioritising China’s interest above India’s.

“Rahul Gandhi’s right-hand man Sam Pitroda: ‘China isn’t our enemy’! This man sings endless praises of China while Congress party’s signing of MoU in 2008 reveal a cozy betrayal of India’s interests and prioritising China’s! It’s crazy how Congress always manages to keep China and Pakistan’s interests above ours,” he said.