‘Bid to sabotage India’s image’: BJP tears into Congress over ‘shirtless protest’ at AI Summit

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. They removed these items soon after entering the AI Expo Hall inside the venue.

Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla said the individuals were immediately apprehended by the security personnel deployed at the premises. Police sources said it appeared to be a planned protest.

Angry reactions poured in from the BJP and the party-led central government, which termed the episode a “national shame”.

The BJP said in a social media post with a video clip of the incident that at a time when India is hosting a prestigious global AI summit, the Congress chose disruption over dignity, “Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Congress workers went topless and created a ruckus at the venue, an act clearly designed to embarrass India on the world stage,” the party said.

“When the nation is striving to position itself as a global technology power house, such conduct only serves the interests of those who wish to see India falter. Political opposition is a democratic right, but sabotaging India’s global image is not. India deserves better,” the BJP stated.

In an aggressive attack on the Congress within minutes of the incident, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called the incident “yet another instance of the sin of insulting the nation”, adding that by taking off their clothes, the Youth Congress workers had ended up “exposing the Congress” itself.

“Congress workers did not just take off their clothes, they have denuded the Congress itself, and its true face has been exposed. That face is AI – against India. While opposing Modi ji, they have begun opposing the country itself. This act amounts to treason,” Chouhan alleged.

“This act is not one of protest against the government, but one of meddling with the pride of Bharat Mata… I want to ask Sonia Gandhi ji and Mallikarjun Kharge ji, has politics become bigger for you than the nation? Will you play with the country’s reputation for politics? Or have you made some secret deal to sully the country’s reputation?… You will have to answer, the country is watching,” he added.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while condemning the protest, said the “unruly conduct” of the Youth Congress workers was deeply unfortunate and reflected a “disregard for the dignity of an event of international significance”.

“Such actions risk undermining India’s image at a time when the nation is being recognised globally for its progress. I strongly condemn this behaviour. At moments when India is advancing on the world stage, partisan disruptions serve no national purpose. Political differences are natural in a democracy, but they must never come at the cost of the country’s honour. The people of India know who is committed to strengthening the nation’s global standing and who places politics above national interest,” Singh said in an X post.

The protest also drew ire from BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, who stated that “It’s not without reason that Mahatma Gandhi ji suggested to dismantle the Congress post independence. He might have expected this degeneration.”

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra, addressing a press conference over the issue, said, “I have only three words for the Congress – topless, brainless, and shameless. The Congress doesn’t even have the sense to understand that the AI summit currently underway is not a BJP summit, nor is it the BJP’s national executive.”

“At an event where world leaders are present and are praising India, traitors of the highest order decided to disrupt this celebration. Whether it is questioning the success of Operation Sindoor or the air strike, Rahul Gandhi knows how to praise Pakistan and insult India. If this is what being a traitor means, then what else would you call it?” he said.

The Youth Congress however defended its protest. In a statement, Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Uday Bhanu Chib said at the AI summit, the organisation “raised its voice and protested against the compromised Prime Minister who has compromised the nation’s identity”.

Chib said the Youth Congress “made it clear that the youth of the country will no longer remain silent”. “The ‘PM is compromised’ is not just a slogan, but the anger of millions of unemployed youth. This trade deal with the US is a betrayal of the interests of our farmers and the public, which will only benefit the US. Peaceful protest is our right in a democracy, and we will continue to raise the voice of the youth,” he said.

The IYC is not against the AI Summit but is against any compromise with India’s interests, Chib said. “When the country’s farmers are being compromised, anti-India trade agreements are being signed, and youth are being pushed into hate politics while keeping them unemployed, should we remain silent? This country belongs to 1.4 billion citizens… If the Prime Minister is compromised, it does not mean that the public should remain silent,” he said.

The Congress justified its youth wing’s protest, with the party’s media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera saying that there has been a lot of hue and cry since the IYC workers “expressed the anger of India’s youngsters in the form of a peaceful protest” at the AI Summit.

“The media incentivised by the compromised PM has been saying that the protest was done at the wrong place and that India was humiliated… Where should the protest be done? In someone’s basement? Protest is done where people can see it, where there are media’s cameras. When we speak in Parliament, the LoP (Rahul Gandhi) becomes the biggest threat and 25 MPs are removed from the House… Where should we speak?” asked Khera. “They say the country was insulted… Was it not insulted when Donald Trump announces a ceasefire?”