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Shirtless vs ‘shameless’: Congress protest at AI summit in Delhi ignites major row
“Doesn't the country's image get tarnished by bringing in a Chinese robot and claiming it as our own?” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate posted on X.
The Congress hit back with aggression after facing criticism over its youth wing's shirtless protest against PM Narendra Modi at the AI Summit venue in New Delhi on Friday.
“Doesn't the country's image get tarnished by bringing in a Chinese robot and claiming it as our own?” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate posted on X. She was referring to the showcase set up by Galgotias University, Greater Noida, at the AI summit expo.
“Doesn't the country's image get tarnished by bowing down and surrendering to America to clinch a trade deal?” she further wrote, referring to the agreement recently announced by US President Donald Trump. She alleged that the media had “blacked out” the Congress's concerns.
She accused PM Modi of “sacrificing farmers' rights” and “handing over all our data to America”, besides “stopping oil purchases from Russia under American pressure”. She also underlined Trump's repeated claim that he made India and Pakistan agree to a ceasefire in May last year.
“So please just shut up and sit down,” she wrote.
However, while the BJP went ballistic against the Congress, the Opposition-leading party's allies took a measured approach.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said “no one should do such a thing” and that “BJP also held a protest during the Commonwealth Games (2010)”.
"This is a professional summit and it should be allowed to remain professional," he said, stressing that the BJP had turned the event political by “pasting their leader's face everywhere”.
From the BJP, among other leaders, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta also slammed the protest at the Bharat Mandapam. She said in a post on X that the India AI Impact Summit is shaping the future direction, and the "scene" created at the event by Congress is "extremely shameful".
The group of Indian Youth Congress workers staged the dramatic, shirtless protest by walking around holding t-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by the security personnel.
Some eyewitnesses also said that the protest gave a bad image to the country, news agency ANI reported.
"As a visitor, I feel this is not the right place to hold such a protest. It gives a bad image to the country. This is not a place for protest, where India is holding an international event and talking about AI," an eyewitness, Sumit Patni, told ANI.
Former BJP MP Smriti Irani also took a swipe at the Congress. “It takes rare political bankruptcy to convert a global summit into a stage for embarrassing the nation before the world,” she said.
Targeting Rahul Gandhi, she added, “The 'scion' of the grand old party seems to believe spectacle can substitute for substance. When your ideas have been out of stock for over a decade, theatrics become the final clearance sale.”
India Youth Congress national coordinator Narsimha was detained by Delhi Police during the protest at Bharat Mandapam.
In a statement, the Indian Youth Congress said its workers were protesting against a "compromised Prime Minister who has traded the identity of the country at the Al Summit". Additional commissioner of police Devesh Mahla said the incident took place at around 12:30 pm and that the protestors had registered for the summit online.
