Congress uses robodog row to target govt, asks how Galgotias got into AI meet

After the AI party, it’s over to the Opposition party.

The Congress continued its criticism against the central government on the concluding day of the AI India Impact Summit in New Delhi on Saturday (February 21) by targeting the Galgotias University, asking how it found a place at the high-profile event and alleged that it received patronage from two Union ministers.

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The university made the headlines for the wrong reasons after showcasing a Chinese-made robotic dog, which its representative claimed to have been built by the institute, resulting in a row that led to its immediate eviction from the expo. The university later said it had not claimed to have made the device, but the Opposition was not convinced.

IYC armed BJP amid Galgotias debacle

The AI summit turned into a stage of political arm-wrestling following the Galgotias fiasco, with the Congress trying to capitalise on it. But the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got its chance to hit back when on Friday (February 20), 10 members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) stormed the event at Bharat Mandapam and staged shirtless protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom they accused of being compromised, and over the India-US trade deal and Epstein Files.

As the two sides blamed each other over embarrassing the country before the world, the senior leaders of the Congress stepped in, to turn the heat back on the ruling party.

Veteran Congress parliamentarian and the party’s general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh, who said the “youth were agitated” in connection with Friday’s protest, felt there was nothing wrong with it and that the controversy was diverting focus from the real question: How Galgotias got into the summit?

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Speaking with reporters at the All-India Congress Committee office in New Delhi, he said his party wanted a probe into that question and asked which political leaders were backing the university. He even mentioned that two central ministers were patronising it.

Ramesh taunts Modi for awarding Galgotias as CM

Taking an indirect dig at Modi, Ramesh asked, “Which CM gave a special award to Galgotias? He was CM before he got promoted as PM. So don’t try to divert attention from Galgotias. It is the real issue.”

Modi had indeed handed over an award to the university in early 2014, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

Ramesh also mentioned the alleged issues of mismanagement at the summit.

However, the Congress’s ammunition to corner the BJP over the Galgotias episode seems to have been dampened by the IYC protest. Even though Ramesh did not find any problem with it, some insiders in the party believe that the youth outfit should have realised that the government was on back foot and planned the protest somewhere else.

Four IYC members sent to police custody

The IYC incident’s fallout continued on Saturday, meanwhile, as four of its members arrested for the protest were sent to five-day police custody by the Patiala House Court, New Delhi, as their bail applications were rejected. The prosecution alleged that the protest was part of a larger conspiracy that needed to be probed in depth, and the custody was essential for that. The four are Krishna Hari, national secretary of the outfit; Narsimha, Kundan Yadav and Ajay Singh.

Also read: Youth Congress chief defends protest at AI summit: 'Won't damage India's image'

IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib, who defended the protest on Friday, saying it did not harm the country’s image, told The Federal that they would give the four members the best legal support possible.

“We are going to fight for them,” he said.

IYC chief backs demand for Galgotias probe

Chib also supported Ramesh’s demand for an investigation into Galgotias finding a place at the summit and reiterated his earlier claim that the AI summit was nothing but a PR event.

“Investigation should happen. This was made a PR event instead of AI summit for the country. This is not going to help the country in any way. This was an event. Yesterday the way Modiji raised the hands of CEOs from foreign countries, they were left baffled by his action. They couldn’t comprehend whether it is an AI summit or a PR event,” he told this website.

Congress leader and its national media coordinator, Mahima Singh, was also among those who thought the IYC did not do anything wrong and backed a probe against the Galgotias.

“The IYC protest was, of course to awaken the government, which seems to be snoozing and seems to be evading questions everywhere,” she told The Federal.

Also read: Five times Galgotias University was dogged by controversies

She claimed that the whole AI summit was a “parade of sycophants of the government”, and that is how Galgotias must have secured the position.

“So we are rightfully demanding an investigation into how these sanctions are mailed for these people and how they secure places in these events and conferences,” she said.

On the IYC choosing such a high-profile venue for its protest, Singh asked, if not there, where else would the youth of the day will or citizens of the country register their rebuttals or demands.

She also linked the US Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down President Donald Tariff’s high tariff regime with the IYC protest. According to her, the protest was held against the India-US (interim) trade deal, the premise of which is the tariffs, which has now been junked by America’s top court.

'Nothing wrong with IYC protest'

On the question of the IYC bringing shame to the nation, Singh had enough reasons to put the ball in the BJP’s court.

“When Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s supporter openly challenges parliamentarians and LoP (Leader of Opposition) Rahul Gandhi in a video, doesn’t that shame the country? Is it right to threaten people's elected representatives? The IYC has challenged the Modi government over a deal which has wrongly undermined the interest of Indian citizens and farmers,” she said.

Also read: AI Summit: Have controversies dented India’s credibility? | Capital Beat

Did a shirtless protest look odd? To that, the Congress coordinator said the BJP has shown the way to the country’s youth on how to protest while being half-nude. She claimed that during the time of Manmohan Singh as the prime minister, many of the BJP’s prominent leaders had staged numerous nude protests. The IYC’s demonstration was peaceful and a show of resistance against a “deaf and blind” government, she said.