People like Sam Pitroda should be sent on a chartered flight to Pakistan: Shiv Sena UBT

Mumbai, Sep 19 (IANS) Reacting sharply to Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda’s recent remark that “Pakistan feels like home to me,” Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey on Friday demanded that individuals like Pitroda should be identified and sent on a chartered flight to Pakistan.

Speaking to IANS, Anand Dubey said, “I feel Sam Pitroda has no real connection with India. He has never been an MP, MLA, or Minister. His only association is with the Congress party. If he loves Pakistan and Bangladesh so much, he should go and live there.”

“Such a leader should be sent to Pakistan, and our youth will help him to get there. In today’s world, we have all the facilities. If he is so fond of Pakistan, let him go. We will not tolerate such statements. We are just as angry with the BJP as we are with Sam Pitroda. The BJP plays cricket matches with Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi once said, ‘Blood and water cannot flow together, but today, blood and sports are flowing,” he added.

Dubey further said, “We will demand from Rahul Gandhi that people like Sam Pitroda be identified and sent on a chartered flight to Pakistan so they can go there, stay happy, and settle instead of making such statements here.”

He also criticised the BJP and said, “When BJP leaders are seen laughing with Shahid Afridi, they should go too. Anyone glorifying Pakistan, leaders of Congress or BJP, don’t need to live here.”

Pitroda, a Gandhi family loyalist, also called upon the government to prioritise 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 come 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.

--IANS

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