3 min readNew DelhiFeb 20, 2026 10:25 PM IST
First published on: Feb 20, 2026 at 08:05 PM IST
Sons of former Congress’ Saran district president and a retired Army personnel – they are among the four Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers, who on Friday staged a “shirtless protest” at Bharat Mandapam during the AI Impact Summit, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Indian Express takes a look at the background of the four arrested by the Delhi Police.
Krishna Hari (35), IYC National Secretary
Krishna Hari hails from Bihar’s Chhapra district. A graduate from a private university in Noida, he is an active IYC office-bearer. Hari is married and had participated in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from September 2022 to January 2023. His father is a devoted Congress leader and was the district president for Saran district for two decades.
Ajay Kumar Sainthwar (30), IYC UP unit vice-president
Hailing from eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria, Ajay Kumar Sainthwar is the son of a retired Army personnel. An active member of the IYC, he had contested the election for IYC president for UP in 2023, but lost. He was then appointed the vice-president of the IYC’s UP unit.
An ardent follower of Rahul Gandhi, the IYC office-bearer — who hails from the OBC Kurmi community — has a graduate degree from a university in Gorakhpur and is described as a “hardworking foot soldier” of the Congress and IYC. After retirement, his father farms a small piece of land in Deoria district, said Congress leaders in UP. Sainthwar has been involved in campaigning for candidates in the recent Bihar, Haryana and Delhi elections.
Narasimha Yadav (34); IYC National Coordinator
Narasimha Yadav grew up in Hyderabad and has been an active office-bearer of the IYC. He has been involved in protests against the BJP and the Union government and is considered a person who is “good at planning movements and protests”, said sources in the Congress. Yadav has a graduate degree from Hyderabad’s Karuna PG College.
Kundan Yadav (26), IYC Bihar state secretary
Hailing from Bihar’s Vaishali district, Kundan Yadav has been an active IYC member for the last few years. He has a graduate degree from a college in Bihar and has been vocal on social justice issues like unemployment and price rise, among others, said Congress leaders. Yadav comes from a humble background and has worked his way up in the IYC Bihar unit, they added.
According to the police, the Youth Congress protesters were wearing T-shirts with the PM’s picture printed on them, which they had concealed under their jackets and sweaters. (Express photo) 
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