Youth Congress workers hold 'shirtless protest' at AI Summit, 10 detained

A group of Indian Youth Congress workers on Friday staged a dramatic 'shirtless protest' at an AI Impact Summit exhibition hall, 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.

A senior police officer said that around 10 people were detained when they were protesting at the AI Summit.

"They were removed immediately and were taken to Tilak Marg police station. No one will be allowed to breach the law and order situation," the officer said.

The BJP slammed the Congress for its youth wing workers' protest, alleging that a "ruckus" was created at the venue to sabotage India's global image at the behest of former party chief Rahul Gandhi.

The protesters marched inside Exhibition Hall No 5, wearing or holding white T-shirts with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump printed on them, along with slogans such as "India-US Trade Deal", "Epstein Files" and "PM is compromised", soon resulting in a commotion.

The ensuing melee witnessed heated exchanges between some of the attendees of the mega event and a few protesters.

Posting a video of the protest, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) said the question being asked is: Why exactly did young Congress workers need to raise their voices against the "compromised PM inside the AI Summit."

"In a country where the media, the system, and the prime minister himself have already been compromised, what platform remains to raise a voice against it? If we protest on the streets, we are stopped. Under the guise of IT Rules, social media posts against the government are taken down. The media has become the government's mouthpiece. So, what avenue remains open to us?" the Youth Congress asked.

"We are not against the AI Summit. We are against the compromises being made with India's interests. When the country's farmers are being bargained away, anti-India trade agreements are being signed, and the youth is kept unemployed while being dragged into politics of hate, should we stay silent?" it asked.

It said India belonged to its 140 crore citizens.

"If we know how to walk the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi, we also know how to walk the path shown by Sardar Bhagat Singh. We will never allow the interests of the country's youths and farmers to be bargained away. Inquilab Zindabad," the IYC said in its post in Hindi.

A police officer said the incident took place around 12.30 pm.

"The protestors registered online to get QR codes to enter the summit venue. They wore sweaters and jackets above T-shirts with objectionable content printed on them. They removed the jackets near the lobby of Hall No 5 and held a protest there," the officer said.

He said the protesters were immediately detained. "We are taking appropriate legal action against them. Some of them are yet to be identified. Efforts are on to identify them," he said.

A Delhi Police personnel on duty said they have heightened security inside the halls after the "unfortunate episode".

The protest, which lasted a few minutes before the group was bundled out of the hall, caught the guests and other visitors by surprise, many of whom watched the unfolding scenes in disbelief, given the significance of the AI Summit that India is hosting.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the AI Impact Summit, which is being held from February 16-20 at Bharat Mandapam and is being attended by several heads of state, global AI leaders, academicians and researchers, heads of global tech giants and philanthropists.

After being whisked away from the hall, the protesters marched towards the lobby, stood against a massive backdrop mounted there and shouted slogans against the government.

A student from Ludhiana who visited the Impact Arena at the summit on Friday said that when general visitors register through the summit website, a QR code comes in their email, which carries the name and identity of their organisation or institution. This QR code is used to enter the Bharat Mandapam premises, he said.