New Delhi [India], February 20 : Former Union Minister Smriti Irani criticised the Congress after its youth wing protested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the India-US interim trade agreement, accusing the opposition party of converting a global summit into a stage for embarrassing the nation.
In a post on X, the BJP leader accused the Youth Congress of causing "disruption" at the AI Summit being held in New Delhi. Taking a dig at Congress, she said that theatrics become a final clearance sale when one's ideas have been "out of stock" for over a decade.
"'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.
Her remarks come after the Youth Congress held a "shirtless" protest at Bharat Mandapam today.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Technology and Science Jitendra Singh asserted that this act reflects the Congress party's deep frustration and sense of entitlement.
Singh also claimed that Rahul Gandhi is undermining India's global reputation just to attack the Government.
"Rahul Gandhi is undermining India's global reputation just to attack the Government your version of constructive opposition? As misleading claims are being pushed around recent trade agreements to stall India's progress, your party members chose to march shirtless at a prestigious AI Summit seemingly to project a negative image of 140 crore Indians before the world. Such tactics only highlight the absence of a forward-looking vision for the nation," said Singh.
Earlier, the Delhi Police initiated legal action against a cadre of the Youth Congress who were protesting 'shirtless' at the Bharat Manadapam on Friday. 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.
"The people detained have been identified as Krishna Hari. He is the National Secretary, age 35, a resident of Bihar. The second one's name is Kundan Yadav. He is also from Bihar. The third one's name is Ajay Kumar, and the fourth one's name is Narasimha Yadav. He is the National Coordinator of the Indian Youth Congres," he added.