The Union Ministry of Education (MoE) has strongly refuted Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s claim that his virtual lecture at ‘IIT-Ranchi’ was hacked, calling the assertion baseless and misleading. The Ministry clarified that there is no Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Ranchi and stated that Pitroda’s comments were not only factually incorrect but also an attempt to malign the reputation of premier educational institutions in India.
The Ministry, in an official statement on 26 February 2025, said that it had verified with the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Ranchi, which confirmed that Pitroda was not invited for any seminar or conference, either in-person or virtually. The Education Ministry condemned Pitroda’s remarks, stating, “Such a reckless statement seems to be an attempt to malign the image of an extremely reputed institution of the country. Unlike such an uninformed person, IITs’ reputation is built on the merit, hard work, and achievement of many students, teachers, and academia.”
Clarification on the recent remarks made by Shri Sam Pitroda in his webcast
It has come to the notice that Shri Sam Pitroda shared a video on his “X” handle on 22nd Feb 2025. He made a statement in that video that he was speaking at the IIT Ranchi to several hundred students,…
— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) February 26, 2025
The Ministry also warned of legal repercussions against any attempt to tarnish the reputation of India’s premier institutions.
Pitroda’s Claim
On 22 February 2025, Pitroda posted a video on his X handle, speaking on the “Relevance of Gandhi in these turbulent times.” In the video, he claimed, “Recently I was speaking at Ranchi IIT to several hundred students and someone hacked in and started showing pornography and (we) had to turn it (the video stream) off. Now is that democracy? Is that fair? I don’t think so… I think institutional independence is at the core of democracy where people can do normal things without worrying about interference,” Pitroda questioned, suggesting that such disruptions were an attack on institutional independence in a democracy.
Conversation with Sam: Relevance of Gandhi in these turbulent times https://t.co/RUmZpZzdVJ
— Sam Pitroda (@sampitroda) February 22, 2025
Pitroda & His Many Controversies
Pitroda, a close aide to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and a mentor to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, is no stranger to controversy. This latest claim follows a series of remarks that have sparked political outrage.
Recently, Pitroda stirred controversy with his statements on India’s approach to China. He urged India to change its “confrontational approach” towards Beijing and to stop assuming China as an enemy, leading to a sharp backlash from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP called his statement a “deep blow to India’s sovereignty” and accused the Congress of having an “understanding” with China. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari linked Pitroda’s remarks to the Congress’ foreign policy stance, arguing that the party was prioritizing China’s interests over India’s security concerns.
In response, Congress distanced itself from Pitroda’s statement, with party communications head Jairam Ramesh clarifying, “The views reported by 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.”
The views reportedly expressed by Mr. Sam Pitroda on China are most definitely NOT the views of the Indian National Congress.
China remains our foremost foreign policy, external security, as well as economic challenge. The INC has repeatedly raised questions on the Modi Govt’s… pic.twitter.com/vVjjc9pQbT
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 17, 2025
Pitroda had also faced backlash in the past over remarks on diversity, which were widely perceived as racially insensitive. The controversy led to his temporary removal from the post of Congress’ overseas unit chief. Though he was later reinstated, Pitroda assured the party that he would be more cautious in the future to avoid controversies. However, this latest incident has again put the Congress in an awkward position, with the party yet to issue a formal response to the ‘IIT-Ranchi’ claim debacle.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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