"Intent of protest was to create ruckus": Eyewitness recounts Youth Congress protest at AI Summit

New Delhi [India], February 20 (ANI): A group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) members staged a protest at the Bharat Mandapam during the AI Impact India Summit 2026 in the national capital on Friday, removing their shirts to reveal slogans which read "Compromised Prime Minister".
Eyewitnesses at the summit condemned the 'shirtless' protest, stating that the opposition intended to create a ruckus and disrupt the summit. Speaking to ANI, one of the eyewitnesses said that the protest gave a bad image to the country.
"As a visitor, I feel this is not the right place to hold such a protest. It gives a bad image to the country. This is not a place for protest, where India is holding an international event and talking about AI. Such a protest should not happen. I was standing at a booth when I heard sloganeering against the honourable PM by some. We understood their intent of the protest was to create a ruckus," an eyewitness, Sumit Patni, said.

Another attendee, Sheetal, told ANI, "This is not a platform to hold a protest. AI is for Bharat and its future. They should not have held a protest here. They need to understand the dignity of the platform."

"Sloganeering against PM was happening, and then those people fled away. The police were chasing them," one of the participants at the Summit told ANI.

Meanwhile, several leaders from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have condemned the protest staged by Youth Congress cadre at Bharat Mandapam. Former Union Minister Smriti Irani took a swipe at the party for allegedly disrupting the AI Summit in New Delhi, remarking that when a party's ideas have been 'out of stock' for over a decade, theatrics become their final clearance sale.
"'Khisiyani Billi Khamba Noche!' It takes rare political bankruptcy to convert a global summit into a stage for embarrassing the nation before the world. The 'scion' of the grand old party seems to believe spectacle can substitute for substance. When your ideas have been out of stock for over a decade, theatrics become the final clearance sale," said Irani.
Earlier on Friday, India Youth Congress National Coordinator Narsimha was detained by Delhi Police during the protest at Bharat Mandapam.
In a statement, the Indian Youth Congress said its workers were protesting against a "compromised Prime Minister who has traded the identity of the country at the Al Summit". Police later detained the protesters.
Further, the Delhi Police initiated legal action against a cadre of the Youth Congress. Additional Commissioner of Police Devesh Mahla said the incident took place at around 12:30 pm and that the protestors had registered for the summit online. (ANI)