Sam Pitroda Blames "Rough Hands" Of Working-Class People For Rajiv Gandhi's "Bleeding Hand" As He Met 5,000 In A Day

A clip of Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda's YouTube interview is going viral on social media where he claims that once he found former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with a bleeding hand and the reason was he shook hands with 5,000 people.

Pitroda can be heard saying, "Once I met Rajiv Gandhi at night and his hand was bleeding. I asked him what happened. We were surprised to know the answer. He (Rajiv Gandhi) said that today 'I shook hands with 5,000 people'."

Pitroda further quotes Gandhi as saying, "Wherever I go, people shake hands. And these people are villagers, work on farms and hence, their hands are very rough."

According to Hindustan Times, these comments were made in the context of Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' which is set to start on 14 January.

While Pitroda shared this incident as praise for Rajiv Gandhi, the netizens reacted by calling out the elitism of Gandhi family. Jan Ki Baat founder Pradeep Bhandari said, "This reflects hatred for the poor and ' RajShahi'."

Pitroda had further said, "But Rajiv Gandhi was always very happy meeting them as he considered meeting people as his responsibility even after he became the PM. The crowd everywhere was overwhelming for Rajiv Gandhi."

Pitroda was recently in the news for saying that the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir should not be an issue of national importance. However, Congress distanced itself from the comment and said it was his personal opinion.