Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sharply criticised the Congress party over a protest staged by its youth wing during the India AI Impact Summit in the national capital. Speaking in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Modi accused the opposition party of using the global event to engage in “dirty and naked politics.”
The protest took place inside Exhibition Hall No. 5 at Bharat Mandapam on Friday, when a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) members removed their shirts and chanted slogans against the India-US trade deal.
“There are political parties in the country that cannot tolerate India’s success. We have just witnessed the world’s largest AI conference hosted in India, which made the entire nation proud," Modi said.
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"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”.
Prime Minister Modi took a sarcastic jab at the Congress party, suggesting that the nation was already aware of its shortcomings. He remarked, "Congress leaders arrived at the venue naked in front of foreign guests. I ask the Congress members, the country already knows you are naked, so why did you feel the need to take off your clothes?"
He further said that the actions of the Congress reflected their ideologically bankruptcy and showed how impoverished the oldest party of the country had become.
The incident had stirred up a political firestorm with the BJP accusing the opposition party of damaging India’s global reputation. Members of the Yuva Morcha (BJYM) staged protests in several cities, raising slogans against Congress.
The incident also attracted criticism from some allies of the INDIA bloc. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav condemned the protest, stating that it brought shame to the nation.
Police have arrested four IYC activists in connection with the incident and claimed that preliminary investigations suggested external conspiracy links. A Delhi court on Saturday sent all the four accused to five-day police custody.