Congress’ ‘medusa’ and Rahul Gandhi’s key adviser, Sam Pitroda has landed in yet another controversy. Notorious for his controversial remarks, the promiment being Hua to Hua, Pitroda is currently at the receiving end of public humilitation. He has been fact-checked by the Ministry of Education for peddling a fabricated story. Incidentally, Pitroda is embroiled in embarassing situation for narrating an incident that took place in “IIT Ranchi”. However, the fact is there is no IIT in Ranchi.
The recent row erupted after the Government of India dismissed claims made by the Indian Overseas Congress chairperson, regarding an alleged hacking incident at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ranchi. The Ministry labeled his statement as “baseless” and “ignorant,” clarifying that no such institution exists in Ranchi. It is pertinent to state that there is an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Ranchi and Pitroda’s assertion about the incident taking place in “IIT” Ranchi, could have been an inadverent slip of tongue. But that isn’t the case. Ironically, the IIIT Ranchi admin also confirmed that the institute had not invited Pitroda for any conference/seminar to deliver a lecture, physically or virtually.
Earlier, Pitroda, a close aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleged that while he was addressing students at “IIT Ranchi,” an unknown entity hacked into the system and played pornographic content and disrupted the event.
Narrating his so-called ordeal, Congress ideologue went further to lament about “democracy”. In hyperbolic rhetoric he asked, “Is that democracy?” For the Congress leader and the grand old party’s ecosystem, every trivial issue, irrespective of being real or fabricated, straight away endangers the democractic credentials of India, the largest and oldest democracy in the world.
Sharing a video clip on social media, Pitroda questioned, “I was speaking at the Ranchi IIT to almost several hundred students, and someone hacked in and started showing all the pornography. We had to turn it off. Now, is that democracy? Is that fair?”
Sam Pitroda claims he was speaking at IIT Ranchi & some students played Porn by hacking link. Says this shows “there’s no democracy”
What has Democracy to do with this?
And Ranchi doesn’t have IIT, but IIIT!
Had Pitroda visited a Porn Site & was caught red-handed by someone?😂 pic.twitter.com/AcDACHaWLE
— BhikuMhatre (@MumbaichaDon) February 26, 2025
However, the Ministry of Education promptly refuted his claims, pointing out that Ranchi has an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) but no IIT. Furthermore, IIIT Ranchi officially confirmed that Pitroda was never invited to any conference or seminar, either physically or virtually. In a strong rebuttal, the government criticized Sam Pitroda for attempting to tarnish the image of India’s premier institutions. The ministry emphasized that IITs are built on merit, hard work, and achievements of students, faculty, and researchers, and that such misleading statements undermine their reputation.
“This institution has stood the test of time and produced some of the brightest minds in the country. Unlike such an uninformed person, IITs’ reputation is built on the merit, hard work, and achievement of many students, teachers, and academia,” the ministry said.
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 government further warned of legal repercussions for any attempts to malign the IITs, stating, “Ministry of Education condemns the statement and reiterates that any such attempt to malign the image of the premier institution will face legal repercussions,”.
Also Read: “China Not Our Enemy”: Sam Pitroda exposes Congress’ stance on its ‘MOU partner’
Sam Pitroda has previously made baseless outrageous statements, including his claim that the India-China border dispute was exaggerated due to U.S. influence. His remarks followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate the issue during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last week.
