In an exclusive interview with India Today, senior advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi defended the Bharat Mandapam protesters arrested during the AI summit, stating their demonstration was peaceful and should not be criminalised. He told India Today that the protest involved no violence, hurt, or intent to create disturbance. Singhvi argued that the government has weaponised criminal law to throttle dissent, saying, ‘You cannot criminalise for this.’ He criticised the current dispensation for its intolerance of dissent since 2014, citing misuse of sedition laws and police action against protestors. He maintained that while the form of protest may be debatable, the government’s response should have been a warning, not criminal charges and bail denial, reflecting what he called a culture of throttling dissent.