Opposition MPs Vote Against Standing Committee Statement Condemning  Youth Congress Protest At AI Summit

Six Opposition MPs voted against a statement proposed by chairperson and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology held on Tuesday, 24 February 2025. The statement sought to condemn an “incident” that occurred on 20 February 2026 at the venue of the India AI Summit, and was supported by ten members.

The Opposition members from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Samajwadi Party, opposed the move in a show of solidarity. The committee stated that it intended to condemn what it described as an unfortunate incident at the summit venue. However, the six Opposition MPs refused to endorse the statement.

Those who opposed the move were Shafi Parambil, S. Supongmeren Jamir and G. Kumar Naik of the Indian National Congress, Saket Gokhale of the Trinamool Congress, Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Devesh Shakya of the Samajwadi Party.

According to sources, the Trinamool Congress MP argued that the Standing Committee’s role is to deliberate on issues and not to issue political statements. During the discussion, Shafi Parambil the Congress MP from Kerala asked whether a formal resolution had been passed. Dubey responded that no resolution had been adopted, but maintained that it was within the prerogative of the chairperson to issue such a statement.

An oral vote was subsequently taken. Of the 16 members who attended the meeting, ten MPs from the ruling coalition voted in favour of the statement, while six Opposition MPs voted against it. The committee has a total strength of 30 members, though only 16 were present at the meeting.

In the press statement eventually released, Nishikant Dubey spoke about the India AI Impact Summit and described it as a grand success. The summit delivered a diplomatic declaration, with 91 countries and leading companies committing to inclusive AI development. The companies announced over $200 billion in AI investment in India.

The statement mentioned that the committee appreciated the “successful organisation of the India AI Summit by the Ministry of Electronics, under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. As a final line, it stated: “The Committee also condemns the unfortunate incident that occurred on 20-2-2026 at the venue of the India AI Summit.”

The meeting had originally been convened to discuss budget grants.

Following the meeting, Congress MPs submitted a dissent note highlighting concerns related to the recent AI Summit. The note stated that avoidable controversies had overshadowed India’s genuine potential in the global AI landscape.

The letter pointed out that the showcase of a Chinese-manufactured robot, reportedly from Unitree Robotics, and the display of a foreign-origin spherical “ball drone” by private exhibitors created adverse optics at a forum intended to highlight India’s indigenous AI capabilities. The situation was further amplified when a Minister’s social media posts promoting these exhibits were later deleted, drawing public attention and raising questions over due diligence.

Additionally, the letter noted that promotional amplification through official broadcaster platforms, including Doordarshan, contributed to a perception gap between the narrative being presented and the on-ground technological representation.

Stakeholders also observed the absence of clear policy articulation on AI governance frameworks, compute infrastructure and workforce transition strategies. The letter further underlined the relatively limited visibility given to startups, academia and grassroots innovators. These factors, coupled with coordination and messaging gaps, shifted the discourse away from substantive AI achievements towards peripheral controversies.

Given AI’s strategic importance, the letter concluded that these aspects merit review so that future global engagements more effectively reflect India’s technological depth, policy clarity and innovation strength.

What was the incident?

Indian Youth Congress workers staged a protest inside Hall No. 5 of the India AI Impact Summit venue on Friday. The protesters briefly removed their shirts to display T-shirts carrying slogans critical of the government and the India–US interim trade deal before security personnel escorted them out.

On Tuesday, the Delhi Police secured four days’ police custody of Uday Bhanu Chib, national president of the Indian Youth Congress, in connection with the protest.

Judicial Magistrate Ravi granted four days of custody, noting that police needed to question Chib regarding his alleged role in the protest. With his arrest, the total number of people held in the case has risen to eight. Police had earlier arrested seven IYC workers, including Jitendra Yadav, Raj Gujjar and Ajay Kumar from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and detained IYC Uttar Pradesh general secretary Ritik alias Monty Shukla from Lalitpur.

Police said additional sections under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those relating to promoting enmity and acts prejudicial to national integration, had been added to the FIR, carrying a maximum sentence of three years. Charges of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, obstruction of public servants and disobedience of official orders were already in place.

The IYC defended the protest, stating that peaceful dissent should not be branded anti-national. National General Secretary Shesh Narayan Ojha said opposing the government was a democratic right and accused the Centre and the BJP of suppressing criticism through police action.

The Congress party condemned Chib’s arrest as unconstitutional and politically motivated, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of undermining the constitutional right to protest.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi expressed solidarity with Chib and the detained Youth Congress workers, describing peaceful protest as part of the party’s legacy. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “Peaceful protest is our historical legacy. It is in our blood and is the democratic right of every Indian. I am proud of my Babbar Sher comrades in the Youth Congress, who have fearlessly raised their voices in the interest of the country against the ‘COMPROMISED PM’.”

He slammed the BJP for the arrest of Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu Chib and “other IYC comrades for bringing this truth before the country is proof of dictatorial tendencies and cowardice”.

Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil addressed a press conference at the AICC headquarters in support of the Indian Youth Congress, calling for an end to what he described as the harassment of young political workers. He said dissent must not be criminalised, particularly at a time when the government is pushing ahead with a US trade deal that he claimed would work against the interests of the country, even as young people continue to face a lack of job opportunities.