The Indian Youth Congress staged a shirtless protest at the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. The BJP-led NDA slammed the move as tarnishing India’s image at a global forum. In defence, the Youth Congress posted a Gandhi photograph on social media.

Published Date – 21 February 2026, 01:55 PM

New Delhi: A day after members of the Indian Youth Congress staged a shirtless protest during the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, the organisation shared a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi on social media to defend its dramatic demonstration.

On Friday, Youth Congress members carried out a protest inside Bharat Mandapam during the high-profile India AI Impact Summit, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government over alleged “unemployment, inflation and the reported India-US trade deal”.

The protest triggered strong reactions from leaders of the BJP-led NDA, who accused the Congress party of attempting to “tarnish” the country’s image at an international event attended by global delegates.

Amid the backlash, the Youth Congress posted on X, seeking to justify its actions.

In the post, it wrote, “Hum Gandhiji ke Vanshaj hai, Shirtless hi sahi (We are descendants of Gandhiji, even if we are shirtless).”

The message was accompanied by a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi bearing the tag ‘Shirtless Congressi’.

Earlier on Friday, several Youth Congress workers removed their shirts inside the venue of the AI summit and raised slogans such as “PM is compromised” before security personnel stepped in.

The protesters were detained promptly and escorted out of the premises to prevent any disruption to the international summit, which was attended by senior government officials, industry representatives and foreign delegates.

Witnesses said some of the demonstrators, while shouting slogans, stood shirtless in front of an India AI Summit display board, clicking photographs and attempting to create disturbance at the venue.

The episode drew sharp political reactions. Leaders from the ruling alliance criticised the protest as an effort to seek publicity during a globally significant event, while Opposition leaders defended it as a legitimate form of dissent in a democracy.