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3 min readNew DelhiFeb 25, 2026 06:30 AM IST
Committee chairman Nishikant Dubey pushed the resolution lauding the government for the “grand success” of the summit held in New Delhi from February 16 to 20. (File)
With the BJP scaling up its offensive against Congress over its youth wing’s ‘shirtless protest’ at the AI Impact Summit recently, an attempt by the ruling party to denounce the action triggered protests during the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Communications and Information Technology meeting on Tuesday, leading to voting for a resolution, it is learnt.
The committee, however, passed a resolution lauding the “grand success” of the summit and condemned the “unfortunate incident” after the proposal was put to vote that the ruling party won 10 against six.
Committee chairman Nishikant Dubey pushed the resolution lauding the government for the “grand success” of the summit held in New Delhi from February 16 to 20. “The summit delivered a diplomatic declaration that 91 countries and leading companies committed to inclusive AI development. The companies announced over $200 billion AI investment in India. Google, besides committing for a big data centre in India, pledged to lay a direct sea cable link between India and the USA,” the resolution said.
While appreciating the successful organisation of the summit, the resolution said that the committee “condemn the unfortunate incident that happened on 20-2-2026 at the venue of the India AI Summit.”
A political row erupted after IYC activists took out a shirtless protest at the AI Summit with the BJP alleging that the Opposition had maligned the country’s image at an international event and the Congress defended its workers, saying protests are part of democracy.
Opposition MPs, Shafi Parambil, S Supongmeren Jamir and G Kumar Naik (all Congress); Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena UBT); Saket Gokhale (TMC); and Devesh Shakya (SP) protested against the move to pass the resolution, sources said. In a dissent note, also signed by his two party colleagues, given to Dubey, Parambil is learnt to have mentioned about “avoidable controversies that had overshadowed India’s genuine potential in the global AI landscape”. According to sources, the Congress MPs highlighted the showcasing of China-manufactured robot and foreign-made spherical ball drone by private exhibitors, claiming that they created adverse optics.
In the just concluded AI Summit, a private university, Galgotias University, was asked to vacate its booth at the AI Expo for showcasing a China-made robodog as its own, triggering widespread criticism.
Have been in journalism covering national politics for 23 years. Have covered six consecutive Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in almost all the states. Currently writes on ruling BJP. Always loves to understand what's cooking in the national politics (And ventures into the act only in kitchen at home). ... Read More
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