The Youth Congress members who protested shirtless against the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the AI Summit venue in New Delhi were inspired by Nepal’s violent Gen Z movement that toppled the government there, Delhi Police told a court on Friday. Officials alleged that there was a larger conspiracy behind the protest at the summit, which was hosting global leaders and tech moguls.
“This is a larger conspiracy that has taken inspiration from the Gen Z protests in Nepal. The accused need to be confronted with each other as well as with digital evidence. This is a very important investigation,” the police told the court while seeking custody of the arrested Youth Congress members.
Police also said a thorough probe was required into the funding of the protesters, including details of who financed the printing of the T-shirts they wore. The shirts carried messages such as “PM is compromised”, “India-US Trade Deal”, and “Epstein Files”.
On Friday, around 10 activists from the Congress’s youth wing suddenly entered the AI Summit venue in New Delhi and staged a dramatic shirtless protest, raising slogans against PM Modi, including “PM is compromised” over the India-US trade deal.
The Youth Congress workers were wearing or holding matching white T-shirts printed with images of the Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump, along with slogans such as “India-US Trade Deal”, “Epstein Files”, and “PM is compromised”.
Security personnel quickly intervened, and four of the protesters were later arrested for disrupting the high-profile global event.
The protest triggered a fierce political row between the BJP and the Congress. BJP leaders, including Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Bhupender Yadav, condemned the act as “anti-national” and accused the Congress of attempting to damage India’s global image in front of international delegates and technology leaders such as Sam Altman and Sundar Pichai.
The Congress, however, defended the protest as a legitimate form of democratic dissent, saying the demonstration reflected the anger and frustration among the youth.
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