Should raise issues at right place and time: INDIA bloc allies slam Youth Cong protest

New Delhi, Feb 21 (SocialNews.XYZ) As the Indian Youth Congress, on Saturday, shared a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi on social media to defend its dramatic shirtless protest during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, leaders from the constituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc criticised the move, citing concerns over the country's image on international platforms.

Allies of the Congress within the INDIA bloc, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), expressed reservations about the manner of the protest, saying there were more appropriate ways to raise concerns.

The Congress' allies said that the protest was not carried out at an appropriate venue, as, according to them, holding such demonstrations at any international platform harms the global standing of the nation.

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha told IANS, "Grievances exist, and no one can deny that. Whether it's about the lack of clarity in a deal or issues with Epstein Files, there could have been a better way to address these concerns."

"In my view, the Youth Congress acted, but personally, as I see it, any movement needs to be handled responsibly. In the past, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members have done similar things, but that doesn't make it right for anyone. The point is, grievances exist, people, especially a section of farmers, are worried, and there could have been a better option for how and where these concerns were expressed," he added.

Reacting to the Youth Congress workers' protest against the AI Summit, SP Spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand, told IANS, "Our party believes that the topic of the protest was nice, but the venue was not. Every matter should be placed in a democratic country, but it is equally important that these should be raised in the right place and at the right time."

"The protest by the Congress workers should not have happened in that event venue. It was not the right thing to do," he added.

This came a day after the Youth Congress members carried out a protest inside New Delhi's Bharat Mandapam during the high-profile India AI Impact Summit, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government over alleged "unemployment, inflation and the reported India-US trade deal".

The protest triggered strong reactions from leaders of the BJP-led NDA, who accused the Congress of attempting to "tarnish" the country's image at an international event attended by global delegates.

Amid the backlash, the Youth Congress posted on X, seeking to justify its actions.

In the X post, the Youth Congress wrote, "Hum Gandhiji ke Vanshaj hai, Shirtless hi sahi (We are descendants of Gandhiji, even if we are shirtless)."

The message was accompanied by a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi bearing the tag 'Shirtless Congressi'.

The BJP strongly objected to the social media post, saying it was inappropriate to justify such an act by drawing a comparison with the Father of the Nation.

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told reporters, "This was not a shirtless protest, but a shameless protest. If they (Congress) felt there was any discrepancy in a major process, then 'gheraoing' (cornering) a Minister or concerned official would have been understandable. However, doing such a protest on a platform where global leaders have arrived, is that the right thing to do?"

"This should never have happened. Doing politics by placing the country in such a position is not right. Not every place is for politics," he added.

BJP National Spokesperson R.P. Singh compared the incident with protests linked to former JNU Umar Khalid, accused in the 2020 Delhi riots.

Speaking to IANS, Singh said, "A few years ago, Umar Khalid did something similar. The timing of the CAA protests was deliberately chosen when the then US President Donald Trump was visiting India. It was done intentionally to send a message to the world and to defame India globally."

"What Rahul Gandhi has done today is the same as what Umar Khalid did. By sending his party workers to protest at a time when heads of state from 20 countries and representatives from around 100 countries were present in Delhi, it was a deliberate act. This was not a protest; it was an attempt to malign the country," he added.

BJP National Spokesperson Rohan Gupta also criticised the comparison with Mahatma Gandhi.

Speaking to IANS, he said, "It is unfortunate that they (Congress) are drawing parallels for this indecent protest with such a big personality (Mahatma Gandhi). Doing such things on an international platform is not right. Did Congress not feel that? The Congress youth wing cannot do this without directions from the high command. They should apologise instead of providing such baseless explanations."

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said, "The naked reality of Congress mentality is being clearly exposed before the people of the country. They stand with an anti-national mentality. They do not want to see the growing pride of the nation, the growing development of the nation."

"Rahul Gandhi's mental nakedness is embarrassing. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is working to make India a 'Viksit Bharat', while on the other hand, you are trying to defame it," he added.

Source: IANS