Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress and a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, courted a fresh controversy on 17th February when he watered-down the threat from China. He even went further to claim that the Chinese Communist regime is not an enemy of India.
His remarks yet again expose the softer stance of the Congress party and its well wishers towards China and the Chinese Communist party with whom it signed an infamous Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU).
Speaking to news agency IANS, Sam Pitroda questioned the concerns regarding China and suggested that the issue was exaggerated.
“I don’t know what is the threat from China. I think there is always this thing blown out of proportion,” he remarked.
He blamed the United States for shaping a hostile perception of China and even criticised India’s approach towards its neighboring country.
“Our attitude has been one of confrontation from day one, and that creates enemies while garnering domestic support. We need to change this pattern,” he said.
Sam Pitroda argued that China should not be viewed as an enemy and instead emphasised collaboration.
“To assume that China is the enemy from day one is not fair, not just to China but to anybody,” he added.
He concluded by advocating increased communication and cooperation with China rather than adopting a command-and-control approach.
Watch: On whether US President Donald Trump and PM Modi will be able to control the threat from China, Indian Overseas Congress Chief Sam Pitroda says, “I don’t understand the threat from China. I think this issue is often blown out of proportion because the U.S. has a tendency… pic.twitter.com/UaBvPVqdsr
— IANS (@ians_india) February 17, 2025
Congress’s History of Admiration for China
Sam Pitroda’s remarks align with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated praise for China over the years. In his 2023 speech at Cambridge, Rahul Gandhi hailed China as an ‘aspiring superpower’ and ‘a force of nature.’ He also lauded China’s ‘social harmony’ while criticising India’s internal policies.
Rahul Gandhi has even praised China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), notorious ploy of CCP to trap developing nations in debt. In a 2022 conversation with journalist Shruti Kapila, Gandhi claimed that China wanted surrounding countries to prosper through BRI. However, in 2023, during his visit to Ladakh, he contradicted himself by stating that China had grabbed India’s grazing land. Interestingly, in 2022, during his UK visit, he had compared Ladakh’s situation to Ukraine’s, implying an invasion by China.
Also Read: Sam Pitroda, Rahul Gandhi’s guru, advocates for settling illegal intruders in India
Congress’s Secret Ties with China
Congress’s softer stance with regards to China gains strength from an infamous MOU signed in 2008. That year, Congress signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Communist Party of China (CCP). The agreement allowed both parties to “consult each other on important bilateral, regional, and international developments.” Moreover, reports have revealed that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF), chaired by Sonia Gandhi and with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi as trustees, received over ₹1 crore in donations from the Chinese government between 2006 and later years.
Rahul Gandhi also secretly met the Chinese ambassador in 2017 during the Doklam standoff and again in 2018 during his Kailash Mansarovar visit, raising questions about Congress’s ties with Beijing. Once the UPA Minister even gave a bizarre reason on Border infrastructure. Exposing party’s feeble stance against China, he brazenly argued that if we built a road it would become easier for China to intrude deep into our territory, in a way presenting Indian forces as a push over and a cowardly excuse to not build border infrastructure.
Nonetheless, Sam Pitroda’s latest remarks have reignited the debate on Congress’s China policy, drawing criticism for their cosy stance against India’s most significant geopolitical rival and current adversary engaged in a prolonged tensions and eyeball confrontration at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
