Uday Bhanu Chib, national president of the Indian Youth Congress, has been arrested after about 15 hours of questioning at Tilak Marg police station over the shirtless protest at Bharat Mandapam during the AI Impact Summit. Police said Chib was uncooperative and tried to mislead investigators, but sufficient evidence exists against him. He will now be produced in court. This marks the eighth arrest in the case.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier condemned the protest, calling it “characterless, brainless, and emotionless.” Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress of undermining national progress, saying the party turned AI—meant for “Ambitious India” or “Aspirational India”—into an anti-India agenda. He highlighted international praise for the summit, from Emmanuel Macron to the UN Secretary-General, Sam Altman, and Sundar Pichai, noting that Congress protests, led by Rahul Gandhi, targeted India’s achievements rather than the BJP or the Prime Minister.
The Youth Congress defended their protest, calling it peaceful and aimed at drawing attention to a “compromised” prime minister. National general secretary Sheh Narayan Ojha said, “Our message was clear: the prime minister is compromised. We organised protests nationwide, facing police action, but did not harm anyone.” Ojha added that the protest sought to raise awareness on issues like the Epstein files and questioned aspects of the recent India-US trade deal, emphasizing that the party’s focus is the government, while their focus is the public. (Agency)
