3 months ago
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Terming the “shirts-off” protestation by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers astatine the AI Impact Summit “profoundly regrettable and ill-conceived”, 160 elder academicians person said that the incidental is simply a reflection of its “inability to separate betwixt morganatic antiauthoritarian dissent and the imperative of safeguarding nationalist prestige connected a planetary stage”.
Among the signatories of the associated connection are JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, IIT Roorkee Director Kamal Kishore Pant, IIT Dharwad Director Venkappayya R Desai, and IIT Jodhpur Director Avinash Kumar Agarwal.
Stating that the India AI Impact Summit marked a defining “national and civilisational moment”, the academicians said it was India’s wide declaration to the satellite that the state had emerged arsenic a superior and sovereign technological powerfulness successful the epoch of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“The caller protestation by the Indian Youth Congress astatine the India AI Impact Summit is profoundly regrettable and ill-conceived. This was neither a partisan level nor a venue for home governmental propaganda. It was an planetary forum wherever India was presenting its technological capabilities, strategical imaginativeness and nationalist imaginable earlier the world,” said the statement.
It said that converting specified a infinitesimal into an “occasion for governmental demonstration” reflected a superior deficiency of judgement and “an inability to separate betwixt morganatic antiauthoritarian dissent and the imperative of safeguarding nationalist prestige connected a planetary stage”.
Noting that successful the summit, 644 AI technologies were showcased and 41 CEOs of planetary exertion giants participated, the academicians said the lawsuit hosted 326 exhibitors from 37 countries and drew astir 5 lakh visitors, making it 1 of the largest exertion gatherings of its kind. “Most significantly, the lawsuit resulted successful concern commitments worthy $250 billion, underlining tangible planetary spot successful India’s technological future,” it said.
“The protestation associated with Rahul Gandhi conveyed an unfortunate content astatine a clip erstwhile planetary investors and exertion leaders were assessing India’s credibility arsenic a semipermanent spouse successful AI and precocious technologies. As a Member of Parliament, determination exists a law work to separate betwixt constructive antiauthoritarian critique and actions that whitethorn inadvertently weaken India’s planetary standing,” said the statement.
The signatories besides expressed interest that the “approach adopted by the Indian National Congress did not adequately bespeak the broader nationalist involvement during specified a important planetary engagement”.
“At a clip erstwhile adversarial countries specified arsenic China and Pakistan publically questioned oregon sought to diminish the value of the summit, immoderate home governmental behaviour that appears to reenforce those narratives invites superior scrutiny. India’s advancement successful AI is the corporate result of its scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, institutions, universities and argumentation frameworks,” they said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded an apology from Mr. Gandhi implicit the “shirts-off” protest, stating that the Congress party’s allies besides criticised it.
At a property league connected Monday (February 23, 2026), BJP nationalist spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi referred to the remarks of Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav made successful Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi connected Saturday, reportedly stating that the Congress should person refrained from doing thing that brought shame to the state successful beforehand of overseas delegates.
