Rahul Gandhi is waved black flags by BJP workers following the Congress’ shirtless protests
BJP workers, along with supporters and members of its youth wing, have staged widespread protests across various cities in India, including Delhi, Surat, Mulund, and Hyderabad. These protests were in response to the Youth Congress’ disruption of the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi. In Mulund, where Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was en route to Thane for a defamation case related to remarks made against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), BJP protesters displayed black flags and chanted anti-Congress slogans, including “Lashkar-e-Rahul.”
The protest involved incidents where members of the Youth Congress entered the AI summit venue, chanting slogans against the Indian government’s trade agreements with the US. As a result, four members of the Youth Congress were arrested, including national secretary Krishna Hari, Bihar state secretary Kundan Yadav, UP vice president Ajay Kumar, and national coordinator Narasimha Yadav; they were subsequently remanded to police custody for five days.
Reports indicate that the Youth Congress had planned to disrupt the summit by disguising their identities with printed stickers that were initially intended to be affixed to black umbrellas. However, upon realizing that these would not be allowed at the security checkpoint, they switched to affixing stickers to their t-shirts. The police are now using facial recognition technology and investigating a potential conspiracy behind the protests. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav criticized the actions of the Congress party, labeling them as “shamelessness” and an attempt to undermine India’s global technological standing. This political altercation is tied to a separate defamation case against Rahul Gandhi which was initiated by an RSS activist claiming Gandhi’s accusations against the RSS sullied its reputation.
