Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met Indian Youth Congress members arrested earlier this year for a “shirtless protest” during the AI Impact Summit, praising their “courage and patriotism.” The meeting, held at the Congress headquarters, marked his first joint interaction with the workers since the February incident. Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, shared photos of the interaction on Instagram.
"Today, I met with my fellow 'babbar sher (lion)' members of the Youth Congress who had been arrested for their peaceful protest. Peaceful protest is a constitutional right of every citizen. And it becomes all the more essential -- especially when the country's Prime Minister is compromised," Gandhi said in his post on Instagram.
"The Congress party and I take immense pride in the courage and patriotism of our 'babbar shers'," he added.
A “shirtless” protest by members of the Indian Youth Congress at the artificial intelligence summit in New Delhi had led to arrests and triggered a political dispute between the government and the opposition.
The demonstration took place on February 20, the final day of the India AI Impact Summit, when several protesters removed their jackets to display T-shirts critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration. They later took off the shirts and raised them while shouting slogans against unemployment and a proposed India-U.S. trade deal, which they said would hurt farmers, small businesses and young people.
Videos of the protest circulated widely on social media. The five-day summit had been billed as a key event for artificial intelligence in India and developing countries, with speakers including Sam Altman and Dario Amodei.
Leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the protest as irresponsible and harmful to India’s global image. The Congress party defended the demonstrators, calling the arrests an attack on democratic rights.
Police said the protest was pre-planned to disrupt the event and arrested eight Youth Congress members, including national president Uday Bhanu Chib, on charges including rioting. He and others were later released on bail.
Authorities also alleged that protesters violated security rules and clashed with personnel on duty. Cases were registered under charges such as criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly and disobedience of public order.
The Youth Congress denied the allegations, saying the protest was peaceful and directed at the government, not the event.
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