Akhilesh Yadav backs IYC protest, slams BJP's AI Summit 'failure'

Akhilesh Yadav backed the IYC's shirtless protest at the AI Summit, citing democratic rights and slamming the BJP's 'security failure.' This marks a U-turn from his earlier stance where he had condemned the same protest as shameful.

Yadav Backs Protest, Slams BJP

Supporting the IYC 'shirtless' protest during the recently concluded AI Impact Summit, Samajwadi Party President and Congress' INDIA bloc ally Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday sharply criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over what he called a "security failure" at the Summit in the national capital. Yadav said that the BJP haven't prepared any ecosystem for Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives in the country.

Speaking to reposters here, Yadav said, "First of all, the way security failures have always happened under the BJP government, and questions were raised on the AI Summit from the very first day. This is entirely a BJP security failure. You haven't prepared any ecosystem or infrastructure for AI. When you show things that are not Indian, naturally, people will get angry."

Further supporting the protest, he asserted, "This is a democratic country and everyone has the right to protest, but this is a dictatorship." Yadav also took a dig at the BJP administration's knowledge of governance, stating, "Our government is submitting the I.P., but ask some people in the government, they don't know the full form of I.P."

Yadav's Earlier Criticism

Earlier on February 21, Yadav criticised the Indian Youth Congress' "shirtless" protest at the AI Impact Summit, saying it brought "shame" to the nation. Akhilesh Yadav said that Congress should have refrained from such an act before foreign delegates at Bharat Mandapam.

"We may have internal rifts; the whole nation knows that the BJP lies. But, they should have refrained from doing something that brings shame to our country in front of foreign delegates and world representatives," the SP chief said.

The "shirtless" protest by Youth Congress workers took place on February 20 inside the summit venue, where the group accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being "compromised" and alleged that India's identity had been undermined at the AI event. (ANI)

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