Removed shirts, raised slogans: Youth Congress workers protested at AI summit, 4 detained. india news

Last updated:February 20, 2026, 15:27 IST

AI Impact Summit 2026: Indian Youth Congress protests shirtless, raises anti-government slogans; 4 in custody so far; BJP and attendees created ruckus at international event

Delhi Police has initiated legal action against Indian Youth Congress workers who staged a shirtless protest at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. AI Impact Summit 2026 Running on Friday.

On the fifth day of the summit, activists stormed the AI ​​Expo hall and walked away with posters raising slogans against the PM Narendra Modi-led government.

Additional CP Devesh Kumar Mahala told ANI, “The incident occurred around 12:30 pm. They registered online and entered through QR code scanning. They were wearing sweaters and jackets on top and a T-shirt on the bottom. Near Hall 5, they took off their sweaters and jackets. They protested by waving their T-shirts. We are taking appropriate legal action against them. We detained four of them and are identifying the rest.”

Top police sources told News18 that prima facie it appears to be a planned protest. “He had hidden the shirt with posters while entering. A first information report (FIR) will be filed,” he said.

Mahala said, “One of the detained is Krishna Hari, 35. He is the national secretary and a resident of Bihar. The name of the second detainee is Kundan Yadav. He is also a resident of Bihar. The name of the third is Ajay Kumar and the name of the fourth is Narasimha Yadav. He is the national coordinator of the Indian Youth Congress.”

In a statement, the Indian Youth Congress said its workers were protesting against the “compromising Prime Minister who has traded the country’s identity for an AI summit”. “Activists of the Indian Youth Congress raised their voice and protested against the Prime Minister compromising the identity of the country at the AI ​​Summit,” an official post of the Indian Youth Congress said.

Indian Youth Congress national president Uday Bhanu Chib said, “Our Youth Congress colleagues are Rahul Gandhi’s soldiers. They will not be afraid. When there was no FIR against Rahul Gandhi, the ED case went on for so many years. He was called for questioning many times. BJP can go to any extent, but we are soldiers of the Constitution, soldiers of Rahul Gandhi. We will not back down. We will raise our voice for the youth of the country.”

Those present say it is harmful for the country’s image

The incident comes at a time when hundreds of delegates are in the national capital to participate in the AI ​​Impact Summit 2026, which began on February 16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Also addressed the summit on Thursday, as he highlighted key topics such as child safety, seeking greater democratization of Artificial Intelligence. The Prime Minister called for stronger guardrails to regulate emerging technologies.

Sumit Patni, an eyewitness, told ANI, “As a visitor, I feel this is not the right place for such a protest. It gives a bad image to the country. This is not the place to protest, where India is organizing an international event and talking about AI. Such a protest should not happen. I was standing at a booth when I heard some people raising slogans against the honorable Prime Minister. We understood their intention to protest. Had to create a ruckus.”

NP Gandhi, another attendee, said, “It is very wrong to do this at a global event.”

BJP condemned the incident

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned the incident and described the protests as “characterless, brainless and emotionless”.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal wrote on Twitter: “This is a display of Congress’s arrogance and desperation! So, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, humiliating India to target the government is your idea of protest! While you want to stall India’s growth by lying about recent trade deals, your soldiers are marching shirtless at the prestigious AI summit, attempting to embarrass 140 crore Indians globally. This disruption strategy It only exposes you and your party’s lack of vision towards India.”

In a video message posted on ‘X’, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “Congress has once again proved that for them AI is not aspirational India, artificial intelligence, aspirational India. For them, AI is anti-India. It is not Congress, it is ANC, anti-national Congress. The AI summit is being praised across the world. From President Macron to the UN Secretary General, the head of a top tech company, From Sam Altman to Sundar Pichai, everyone is praising it.

“Even Shashi Tharoor said the AI ​​summit was excellent. But at the behest of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party is protesting; it is a characterless, brainless, emotionless protest. It is not a protest against the BJP, it is not a protest against the PM, it is a protest against India’s achievements…” he said.

“At a time when India is hosting a prestigious global AI summit showcasing its innovation and leadership in technology, the Congress party chose disruption rather than dignity. Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Congress workers created a ruckus by going topless at the venue, an act clearly designed to embarrass India on the world stage. When the country is attempting to establish itself as a global technology superpower, such conduct can only serve the interests of those in power. Those who want to see India falter. Political protest is a democratic right, but it is to harm India’s global image.” Amit Malviya wrote on X.

National spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also criticized the Congress and accused the party of speaking the language of urban Naxalites. “Congress party should be ashamed. On the instructions of Rahul Gandhi they stormed the International AI Summit. Anti India Congress. Congress needs to apologize to the country. Congress behaves like urban Naxalites,” he posted on Twitter.

BJP leader Tarun Chugh said, “The crime committed by Congress workers at the international summit as part of a conspiracy to malign India’s image is unforgivable. The people of the country will never forgive this… The Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi keeps hatching every nefarious conspiracy under the foreign toolkit…”

What did Congress say about the summit?

Following the protests, Congress leader and Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government over organizing the summit and said, “Instead of leveraging India’s talent and data, the AI ​​summit is a disorganized PR spectacle – Indian data for sale, showcasing Chinese products.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had also alleged mismanagement of the AI ​​summit and claimed that what could have been a “showpiece” event for India turned into “complete chaos”.

Kharge claimed that visitors and exhibitors alike faced “extreme hardship” due to lack of basic amenities like food and water.

In a post on X, Kharge criticized the government, saying that the summit which was expected to showcase India’s digital and artificial intelligence capabilities to the world, allegedly saw massive mismanagement.

With ANI inputs

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