PM Modi blasts Congress for 'shirtless' protest at AI meet
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday joined the chorus of criticism against the Congress over its “shirtless” protest at the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi, accusing the grand old party of turning a global event into an arena for its “gandhi aur nangi” politics.
In his address after flagging off the Namo Bharat train, the Prime Minister said, “Congress turned a global event into an arena for its dirty politics.” Intensifying his attack on the Opposition party, the PM said, “I ask Congress leaders — the nation already knows your true form. What was the need to strip further?”
Modi’s remarks came days after workers of the party’s youth wing, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), staged a “shirtless” protest at Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the AI Summit in New Delhi.
"What the Congress leaders did there shows how ideologically bankrupt and impoverished the oldest party of the country has become. Congress is busy defaming its own country. Some political parties within the country cannot digest India's success. We just witnessed the world's largest AI conference in India.
But what did the Congress and its ecosystem do? The Congress turned a global event for India into a platform for its dirty and naked politics," the PM said.
Modi asserted that the Congress should have remembered the AI Summit was "not a BJP event'. "Congress leaders hate me. They want to dig my grave. They don't even hesitate to insult my mother. Congress should have remembered that the AI Global Summit was not a BJP event, and no BJP leader was present at that time. This was a national work. But Congress broke the decorum that day.
This corrupt policy of Congress is being condemned by the entire country," he said.
Following the incident, the Congress faced widespread backlash, including criticism from some of its allies and other Opposition leaders, who termed the act “inappropriate,” in addition to sharp reactions from the ruling BJP. One of Congress’s key allies, Akhilesh Yadav, also denounced the protest, saying, “They should have refrained from doing something that brings shame to our country in front of foreign delegates and world representatives.”
Meanwhile, the Patiala House Court sent four IYC workers -- Krishna Hari, Kundan Yadav, Ajay Kumar and Narsingh -- to five days of police custody. During the protest, they were wearing T-shirts with the slogan “India-US Trade Deal Compromised.”
The court rejected the bail pleas of all four accused. It said the investigation is at an important early stage and releasing them now could lead to them fleeing or tampering with evidence.
Delhi Police told the court that the accused raised anti-national slogans and carried out the protest in a way similar to the Gen Z protests in Nepal, allegedly to defame India at an international event.
