“I have nothing against Mr Modi as a Gujarati leader, friend, well-wisher. He is very warm to me, no issue about that and I appreciate that. And equally, on my side, I have been to his house in Gujarat several times. But I may have issues with his view of the world and I have issues with his ideology – but that’s a separate issue. That’s not against (the) individual; it’s against the idea. And these are two separate things. I can disagree with Mr Modi and I can also have dinner with him…and a laugh,” he added.

In response to Pitroda, the prime minister wrote on X, “Happy Diwali and Nutan Varsh Abhinandan to you Sam Bhai and to Anjana Ben. Praying for a joyful and healthy year ahead. Jai Jagannath!”

Sam Pitroda defends Sonia Gandhi’s memoir against BJP criticism

The exchange comes after Pitroda sharply reacted to the BJP’s criticism of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey Of Love, which he called a “book full of love, courage, commitment, conviction and character”.

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“Criticism will always be there because those who look at things differently will have a different view. That’s okay, you know. But whenever someone writes a book like this, you have to be generous before you comment, because it is her book and not your book,” he told PTI in the US on Wednesday.

The BJP accused Gandhi of using her memoir to justify the 1975 Emergency and give her husband Rajiv Gandhi a “clean chit” over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Earlier, Pitroda dismissed as “bogus” the allegations of foreign funding against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc. He said he would not take money from any foreign donors to “attack anybody, including my prime minister”.

“There is no pressure from abroad. There is no money from abroad. There is no advice from abroad. But we talk to intellectuals… How could you show a picture of Sam Pitroda or Rahul Gandhi with George Soros, whom we have never met? You show that photograph, and then you send it to everybody, including my own family. Shame on you…,” ANI quoted him as saying.