NEW DELHI: The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Friday defended its shirtless protest at the Amnesty International summit, saying the demonstration was the “angry voice of millions of unemployed youth” targeting “compromising” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The youth wing said they were “not against the AI Summit” and that they “will not sit quietly any longer.”“Today, during the AI Summit, comrades at the Youth Congress raised slogans of ‘Prime Minister compromised’, clearly conveying the message that the country’s youth will no longer sit quietly,” IYC President Uday Bano told ANI.
Congress paradox: Tharoor hails AI summit as youth stage shirtless protest at the venue
“The slogan of PM Modi being compromised is not just a slogan, it is the voice of anger of millions of unemployed youth. Prime Minister Modi’s trade deal with America seems to be against the interests of farmers and common people, as America is reaping more benefits from it,” Pannu said.“The Youth Congress will continue to fight for the rights of the country and will continue to speak the truth on every platform,” he added.In a previous statement, the organization said that its workers “raised their voices and protested against the compromising prime minister who traded on the country’s identity at the artificial intelligence summit.”In a series of social media posts, the IYC said the truth cannot be buried behind the glittering stage of the AI summit.
“When corporate interests are placed above the well-being of the nation and softness in foreign policy is clearly visible, protest becomes a must!”
She added that her workers went to the Bharat Mandapam “so that a voice can be raised against the ‘compromising Prime Minister’ and the Modi government is forced to answer for the concessions being made on the honor of the country!”The organization also said: “We are not against the AI Summit.
We are against concessions made to India’s interests.”“If we know how to follow the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi, we also know how to follow the path shown by Sardar Bhagat Singh. We will never allow the interests of the country’s youth and farmers to be trafficked,” the statement said.The remarks came after around 10 Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers were arrested after they briefly raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside Exhibition Hall No. 1 at Bharat Mandapam.
5 police said.Additional Commissioner of Police Devesh Mahla said the incident occurred at around 12:30 pm and that the protesters had registered online to attend the summit.Protesters marched inside the venue wearing or carrying white T-shirts bearing pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, along with slogans such as “India-US trade deal”, “Epstein files” and “PM hacked”, leading to heated discussions with some attendees.Officials said that the detainees were being identified and appropriate legal measures were being taken.The ‘topless’ protest sparked sharp reactions, with BJP leaders accusing the Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of orchestrating the unrest.Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to “insult India”. In his X post, he wrote: “This is Congress’ arrogance and frustration on display! So, Mr Rahul Gandhi, humiliating India by targeting the government is your idea of opposition!”“While you want to stifle India’s development by peddling lies about recent trade deals, your soldiers are marching shirtless at the prestigious AI summit, trying to embarrass 140 crore Indians globally.
He added that this obstruction strategy only exposes your and your party’s lack of vision for India.Union Minister Bhupinder Yadav called the protest “sheer impudence of the Congress!” “At a time when Bharat is taking strides in positioning itself as a global technology power, Congress is doing its best to embarrass the country. This is not political opposition, it is an attempt to sabotage India’s global image. It is despicable,” he said.
