Explained | Row over Sam Pitroda's inheritance tax comments

Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda's recent comments on inheritance tax has not only drawn criticism from the BJP but also resulted in tension within the grand old party with the Congress General Secretary distancing the party from Pitroda's ideology.

What did Sam Pitroda say?

In an interview with the news agency ANI, Pitroda said that inheritance tax in America is an "interesting law" that does not exist in India.

"...In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45% to his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by the government. That's an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair. In India, you don't have that."

"When we talk about redistributing wealth, we are talking about new policies and new programs that are in the interest of the people and not in the interest of super-rich only," Pitroda added.

BJP's attack on Congress of 'redistribution of wealth'

Pitroda's comments come at a time when the Congress is already facing a blistering attack from the saffron party with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterating in his rallies that the Congress has tried to extend reservation on the basis of religion and give it to Muslims, and accused the party again of hatching a "deep conspiracy" to snatch people's wealth and distribute it among a "select" group.

Today, while addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh, Modi said "Congress says it will impose inheritance tax", urging people to ensure that a lotus blooms at every poll booth

"The Congress manifesto says they will calculate the gold with mothers and sisters, and then distribute that property. They will distribute it to whom - Manmohan Singh's government had said that Muslims have the first right on the country's assets," Modi had said earlier in a rally in Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission is reportedly "examining" the complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of indulging in "hate speech", even as complaints from parties, social organisations, and citizens poured in.

How did the Congress react?

The Congress has distanced itself from Pitroda's comments with Jairam Ramesh clarifying that while Pitroda expresses his opinions freely on issues he feels strongly about, it does not mean that his views always reflect the position of the Congress.

"Sensationalising his comments now and tearing them out of context are deliberate and desperate attempts at diverting attention away from Mr. Narenda Modi's malicious and mischievous election campaign; that is anchored ONLY in lies and more lies," he wrote on platform X(formerly known as Twitter)

How did Sam Pitroda respond?

As the matter blew up, Pitroda said that it was unfortunate that what he said "as an individual on inheritance tax in the US is twisted by Godi media to divert attention from what lies PM is spreading about Congress manifesto. PM’s comments Mangal Sutra & gold snatching is simply unreal."

"I mentioned US inheritance tax in the US only as an example in my normal conversation on TV. Can I not mention facts? I said these are the kind of issues people will have to discuss and debate. This has nothing to do with policy of any party including congress," the leader wrote.

At the same time, Rahul Gandhi while addressing a ‘Samajik Nyay Sammelan’ in New Delhi said that the Congress manifesto aims to give back to 90 per cent of Indians a small part of the Rs 16 lakh crore given to big businessmen as loan waivers.

Launching a scathing attack at the BJP, the Congress leader also announced that no force can stop the caste census.