'There Is No IIT In Ranchi': Govt Fact Checks Sam Pitroda's Claim, Busts His Lies, Warns Legal Action

New Delhi: The Ministry of Education has slammed Rahul Gandhi ’s close-aide Sam Pitroda for maligning the image of Indian Institute of Technology ( IIT ) after Indian Overseas Congress chairperson alleged that he was addressing hundreds of students at IIT Ranchi when someone hacked the systems and played some objectionable content.

Sam Pitroda had shared a clip on February 22 from his conversation on the subject ‘Relevance of Gandhi in this turbulent times’, on his X handle, formerly Twitter, in which he allegedly claimed, “…I was speaking at the Ranchi IIT to almost several hundred students and someone hacked and started showing all the pornography, we have to turn it off, now is that democracy, is that fair?”

“I think institutional independence is the core of democracy where people can do normal things without worrying about interference,” Sam Pitroda added.

Ministry of Education fact checks Sam Pitroda, busts his lies

Refuting Sam Pitroda’s remarks, the Ministry of Education said that there is no IIT in Ranchi, therefore, the statement made in that video is not only baseless but also reeks of ignorance.

The Ministry further said that there is an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Ranchi but even they have confirmed that Sam Pitroda was not invited by the institute to any conference-seminar to deliver a lecture, physically or visually.

The Education Ministry slammed Rahul Gandhi’s close aide for his reckless statement which seemed to be an attempt to malign the image of an extremely reputed institution of the country, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

“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 government said.

The Ministry condemned Sam Pitroda’s statement and warned that any such attempt to malign the image of the premier institution will face legal repercussions.

Sam Pitroda is well-known for maligning India's image   

This is not the first time when Sam Pitroda tried to malign India's image, question its democracy, institutions. There has been several occasions in the past when the Indian Overseas Congress leader has been called out for speaking against country's interests.

In one of his recent remarks, Sam Pitroda said that India shouldn’t consider China as its enemy adding he doesn’t understand the threat from Beijing and the issue has been blown out of proportion.

Pitroda said India should change its mindset and stop assuming that China is the enemy from day one.