New Delhi, Feb 20 Congress leader Gurdeep Singh Sappal on Friday sought to justify the “shirtless” protest at the India AI Impact Summit by Indian Youth Congress workers, adding that they are “young men who tend to get over-excited and angered”.
“The young protesters’ anger got vented in their agitation against the destruction of their future and careers,” said Sappal, linking the demonstration at the Summit to the allegedly “unfavourable” Indo-US trade deal.
Describing the IYC stir as a manifestation of the right to protest, Sappal said even BJP leaders have resorted to demonstrations during the conduct of international events in the country.
He said the then BJP President Nitin Gadkari climbed a barricade and protested at the time when the country was hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
“Wasn’t the country’s image damaged by such protests by the BJP?” he asked.
Sappal took a dig at the BJP and said that when they hold a protest, it is described as a democratic right, but they start objecting when other young protesters get “over-excited and express anger”.
Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera hit out at the BJP for finding fault with the Youth Congress protesters choosing the AI Impact Summit venue for their protest.
“Do you hold a protest in a basement? For visibility, a protest is always held where it gets noticed by the media,” said Khera in a video statement.
He alleged the Opposition is not allowed to speak. “In Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is not allowed to speak and 25 MPs are sent out of the House,” he said.
“When we hit the road for a protest, then we are dubbed as anti-national. Where can we go and protest?” he said, complementing the Indian Youth Congress workers for exposing the “failures” of the government.
Citing several alleged instances, including the extradition of Indians in chains from the US, that have occurred under the BJP government, Khera said, have they forgotten about these incidents which have damaged the image of the country.
He said the country’s image was hit the most due to the presentation of a China-made robot dog as a Made in India model by a university at the ongoing AI Summit.
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