AI summit row: Minister calls Rahul Gandhi's criticism a 'drama'

Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal hit back at Rahul Gandhi, calling his criticism of the AI summit 'drama.' The controversy involves Galgotias University displaying a Chinese robotic dog, which Gandhi termed a 'PR spectacle.'

Minister Slams Rahul Gandhi's AI Summit Criticism

Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal on Thursday criticised Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, saying that everything seems to be a drama to him, further underlining that Artificial Intelligence is the need of the hour. "Everything seems to be a drama to Rahul Gandhi... AI is a need of the hour all across the world, and India will not lag in this under any circumstances. If Rahul Gandhi says such things now, then I remember the era when people called computers nonsense..." he said.

Controversy Over Chinese Robotic Dog

The remark came amid a fresh controversy at the AI Impact Summit, where Galgotias University was directed to immediately vacate its expo stall following backlash over its display of a robotic dog. The university presented the robot, named "Orion," as an in-house innovation, but it was quickly identified by critics and social media users as a commercially available Unitree Go2 model manufactured by the Chinese company Unitree Robotics.

Rahul Gandhi Calls Summit 'PR Spectacle'

Taking to 'X', Rahul Gandhi replied to a post by Congress and said, "Instead of leveraging India's talent and data, the AI summit is a disorganised PR spectacle - Indian data up for sale, Chinese products showcased."

The University faced severe online and offline criticism after a robot allegedly manufactured by a Chinese company was seen at the University display stall.

Galgotias University Defends Itself

However, Galgotias University defended itself. The University's Professor Neha Singh, who was seen in a viral video introducing the RoboDog as 'Orion' and explaining it at the AI expo, claimed that she had never sought to present the RoboDog as the University's own. "We have never claimed that it is ours, Indian, or Galgotian. Its main branding is still on it. The robot that had come for a particular task has gone there for the children's study, for the children's research and development. Our centre, our campus -- it has gone into the children's lab. It was here for two days for projection; the projection has been completed," Professor Neha Singh told ANI.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)