Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda is back in the spotlight with his latest remarks about India’s neighbours.
On 19 September 2025, Pitroda called for India’s foreign policy to prioritise relationships with neighbouring countries, saying he “felt at home” during visits to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
“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 all need help, they are all going through difficult times, and there is no need to fight. Of course, there is a problem of violence, terrorism, all that is there. But at the end of the day, in that neighourhood, there is 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 me, they talk like me, they like my songs, they eat my food. So I must learn to live with them in peace and harmony, that is my first priority.” Pitroda said.
Watch: Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda says, “Our foreign policy, according to me, must first focus on our neighbourhood. Can we really substantially improve relationships with our neighbours?… I’ve been to Pakistan, and I must tell you, I felt at home. I’ve been to… pic.twitter.com/DINq138mvW
— IANS (@ians_india) September 19, 2025
Pitroda’s statement adds to a growing catalogue of his controversial interventions on India’s foreign policy matters, which the BJP has repeatedly cited to question the Congress party’s stance on national security.
This is not the first time Sam Pitroda has been at the centre of a political row. Earlier in February, when ties with China were still strained, he sparked controversy after suggesting that India exaggerates the threat from China. Speaking in an interview to IANS, he argued that New Delhi should stop treating Beijing as an enemy and instead adopt a collaborative approach.
“I don’t understand the threat from China. I think this issue is often blown out of proportion because the US has a tendency to define an enemy. I believe the time has come for all nations to collaborate, not confront. Our approach has been confrontational from the very beginning, and this attitude creates enemies, which in turn garners support within the country. We need to change this mindset and stop assuming that China is the enemy from day one,” Pitroda had said.
In 2024, he made racist remarks about Indians and said, “We could hold a country together as diverse as India where people on the East look like Chinese, people on the West look like Arab, people on the North look like maybe White and people in the South look like Africa. Doesn’t matter.
“We could hold together a country as diverse as India, where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people on North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africa” 💀💀
(VC : @TheStatesmanLtd) pic.twitter.com/aPQUyJflag
— Darshan Pathak (@darshanpathak) May 8, 2024
In May 2019, Sam Pitroda faced backlash for his dismissive response, “hua toh hua” (“so what”), when questioned about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots although he later apologized. He deflected attention to the current government’s failures, avoiding accountability for the tragic events of 1984.
(With inputs from NDTV)
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