Now, Congress Leader Sam Pitroda Brings Up 'No Pappu' With Rahul Gandhi Sharing Stage In Texas

Senior Congress Leader Sam Pitroda - while addressing the Indian community in the US today - declared that his party MP and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is "not a Pappu". 

"Rahul Gandhi has a vision contrary to what BJP promotes by spending crores of rupees. I must tell you, he is no Pappu. He is highly educated, well-read, a strategist," Pitroda said.

“Going to school in the early fifties, Gandhian thoughts were the core of our learning. Inclusion and diversity were not just words, this is what we lived by, and when I begin to see changes in our society that attack the basic fabric, I worry about it. So the idea is to make sure that we respect our people irrespective of their race, religion, language, or state. We create the same opportunities for everybody we provide dignity to labour and these are the issues that Rahul Gandhi is championing and that makes me very happy,” the veteran Congress leader added. 

 Pitroda said that Rahul Gandhi's agenda is to celebrate diversity. "Rahul Gandhi has a different agenda which is more focused on something that we have been trying to address for a long time but have not been able to quite address well and that is inclusion, celebration of diversity..," he said.

Earlier this month, Pitroda had asserted that Rahul Gandhi has all the qualities of a future prime minister.  "From my personal experience and I may be biased, I think he is very capable. He is a decent human being, he is well educated, he has the right DNA and I see him as the custodian of the idea of democracy that the Congress has always promoted," he had said.

Pitroda, the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, dismissed as "bogus" the BJP's attack on Rahul Gandhi over his remarks critical of the government during his visits abroad.  "Criticising the government is not criticising India. It is ok to criticise the government by an opposition leader, That is his job in fact, so why complain. I think this whole business of criticising abroad is bogus," he said. 

Rahul Gandhi is in the US on a three-day visit.  Gandhi, who remained silent on Kolkata rape-murder case, criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) for their stand on women, sparking massive controversy. He accused them of promoting restrictive roles for women, suggesting that they should "stay at home, cook, and not talk too much".

Rahul Gandhi also spoke about the problems faced by the youth in India due to unemployment.

Responding to Gandhi, the BJP  accused him of praising anti-India elements and defaming the country on foreign soil. "His sole purpose is to defame India on a global platform. He should be in jail for insulting the country," said Union Minister Giriraj Singh.