'Baseless and reckless': Centre fact-checks Sam Pitroda's hacking claims against 'IIT Ranchi'

The Ministry of Education decried Congress' Sam Pitroda for his claims of lecturing at the non-existent 'Indian Institute of Technology in Ranchi'. The Ministry said there is no such institution in Ranchi, but acknowledged the presence of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), which has no records of Pitroda delivering a lecture.

The Ministry described his statements as a "baseless and reckless statement... to malign the image of an extremely reputed institution" and warned of potential legal consequences for such allegations. In a video shared on X, Pitroda claimed his lecture at "Ranchi IIT" was disrupted by hackers who displayed pornography, forcing him to terminate the video stream.

The Ministry dismissed his narrative, emphasising, "This institution has stood the test of time and produced some of the brightest minds in the country..." and criticised Pitroda as an "uninformed person". It further highlighted that "IITs' reputations are built on the merit, hard work, and achievement of many students, teachers, and academia." 

Sam Pitroda is not new to courting controversies with his remarks. Recently, he suggested that India should not view China as an enemy sparked backlash from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which deemed his statement a "very deep blow to India's sovereignty".

The BJP accused Congress of having an undue alignment with China. Congress distanced itself from his views, asserting, "The views reported by Sam Pitroda on China are certainly not the views of the Indian National Congress. China remains our biggest foreign policy, external security, and economic challenge." 

His comments came after US President Donald Trump offered to mediate in the India-China issue during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Washington visit last week. 

"I do see the skirmishes on the border, which are quite vicious, and I guess they continue to go on. If I could be of help, I would love to help as that should be stopped," Trump said. 

Taking note of China's global influence, Trump described it as a "very important player" and even suggested Beijing could have a role in ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

Pitroda had earlier sparked controversy with comments on diversity, leading to his temporary removal from a Congress overseas position. He was reinstated after clarifying that his comments were misrepresented by the BJP.