Youth Congress' AI summit protest not a 'good choice': RJD's Manoj Jha

Amid mounting chaos over the Youth Congress' "shirtless" protest, Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) MP Manoj Jha on Friday noted that there was a deep-seated anger across the country against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) government, but said that it was not a "good choice" to protest at the AI summit. He said many issues demanded clarity, including the India-US interim trade agreement, but the protestors could have chosen another forum to register their protest against the government. "I believe there is anger in the country, and the anger is on many fronts - regarding the India-US deal. From (tariffs at) 2.9 per cent to 50 per cent, then it went back to 18 per cent, which is being celebrated. Someone is named in the 'file'. There are many issues. However, I feel that it was not a good choice to protest at a summit like this. They (protestors) should have chosen another forum for the protest," Jha told ANI.

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BJP condemns 'theatrics'

Meanwhile, several leaders from the ruling BJP have condemned the protest staged by Youth Congress cadre at Bharat Mandapam. Former Union Minister Smriti Irani took a swipe at the party for allegedly disrupting the AI Summit in New Delhi, remarking that when a party's ideas have been 'out of stock' for over a decade, theatrics become their final clearance sale. "'Khisiyani Billi Khamba Noche!' It takes rare political bankruptcy to convert a global summit into a stage for embarrassing the nation before the world. The 'scion' of the grand old party seems to believe spectacle can substitute for substance. When your ideas have been out of stock for over a decade, theatrics become the final clearance sale," said Irani.

Protesters detained, legal action initiated

Meanwhile, India Youth Congress (IYC) National Coordinator, Narsimha, was detained by police during a protest at Bharat Mandapam today. Earlier, in a statement, the Indian Youth Congress said its workers were protesting against a "compromised Prime Minister who has traded the identity of the country at the Al Summit".

Police later detained the protesters.

The Delhi Police initiated legal action against a cadre of the Youth Congress who were protesting 'shirtless' at the Bharat Manadapam today. Additional Commissioner of Police Devesh Mahla said the incident took place at around 12:30 pm and that the protestors had registered for the summit online. He said the protestors were wearing sweaters and jackets over objectionable T-shirts. Near Hall Number 5, one of them removed his outer clothing and waved the T-shirt in protest.

"The incident occurred around 12:30 PM. They registered online and entered through QR code scanning. They were wearing sweaters and jackets on top and a T-shirt underneath. Near Hall 5, they removed their sweaters and jackets. They protested while waving their T-shirts. We are taking appropriate legal action against them. We detained four of them and are identifying the rest," the Additional CP told ANI. (ANI)