Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed the Congress over the recent shirtless protest by members of its youth wing at the AI Impact Summit. “Congress has not only stripped down in front of foreign guests but also exposed its ideological bankruptcy…” PM Modi declared, alleging that the grand old party had tried to tarnish the “national celebration”.
Modi made the comments while addressing the News18 Rising Bharat Summit. He struck a similar note while addressing a public rally in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh earlier this month – accusing the Congress of turning the global platform into a stage for what he described as “dirty and naked politics”.
“Congress not only stripped down in front of foreign guests, but also exposed its ideological bankruptcy. It is obvious that this action angered the nation. That is why they invoked Mahatma Gandhi to justify their sins. Congress does this every time. When it needs to hide its sins, it invokes Bapu, and when it needs to glorify itself,” he concedes to Congress all the name of the opposition to become one family of ideologies. PM Modi stated at the summit on Friday.
What happened at the AI Impact Summit?
PM Modi’s comment at the News18 Rising Bharat summit comes days after chaotic scenes unfolded at India’s AI Impact Summit 2026 – held at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
On 20 February, Indian Youth Congress workers staged a shirtless/top protest that disrupted the event.
According to PTI, a group of people marched inside Hall No. 5, wearing or holding white T-shirts with images of Prime Minister Modi and US President Donald Trump along with slogans such as “India US Trade Deal”, “Epstein Files” and “PM is compromised” – leading to an uproar.
On Tuesday, February 24, Delhi police arrested Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chiba in connection with the protest.
“He just knows how to . . .”
Addressing the summit on Friday, the prime minister also claimed that the Congress always resorted to Mahatma Gandhi to cover up its failures but tried to give credit to one family for anything good.
“The people of our country have welcomed every good move by our government, but Congress only knows how to counter everything. Congress votes are not stolen, rather people don’t consider Congress worthy of their votes. Millennials first taught Congress a lesson, now Gen-Z is ready to do the same,” he said.
PM Modi also said that in a democracy, the role of the opposition is not just to blindly oppose the government’s every move, but to present an alternative vision and therefore the “enlightened public” of the country is now “teaching a lesson” to the Congress.
“Today, the state of the Congress is that it has more than 50 MLAs in just four states. In the last 40 years, the number of youth voters in the country has increased, but the Congress has clearly declined,” Modi said.
