NEW DELHI: More than 270 retired bureaucrats, judges, armed forces veterans and other former officials on Tuesday in a joint statement condemned the shirtless protest staged by leaders of the Indian Youth Congress, the youth wing of the Indian National Congress, at Bharat Mandapam during the recent AI Impact Summit.
“The recent unpardonable spectacle at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where members of the Indian Youth Congress staged a "shirtless" protest within the corridors of Bharat Mandapam, is a grotesque betrayal of national dignity,” they said in the statement issued as "concerned citizens" of India.
They said that at a time when some of the world’s most influential technology leaders, global CEOs and international delegates had gathered to witness India’s rise as a leading architect of the future, the orchestrated outburst served only to defame the country on the global stage. “By choosing a high-level diplomatic and technological forum to execute a crude, exhibitionist stunt, the organizers have proven that their brand of politics prioritizes personal optics over the prestige of the Republic,” they said.
They further added, “It is even more disgusting because this was not a spontaneous expression of dissent; but it was a premeditated act of sabotage. Entering a secure, international venue under the guise of legitimate participants using QR codes, only to strip and engage in vulgar sloganeering, is a breach of both security and basic decorum. Such behavior is not "activism"—it is “an anti-national disruption” designed to signal instability to global investors and partners.”
Strongly criticising the protest, they stated, “For any political entity to use an international summit as a backdrop for a "topless" ruckus is to tell the world that India is a land of chaos rather than a sophisticated global power. It mocks the hard work of our scientists, the aspirations of our engineers, and the hospitality of 1.4 billion citizens who take pride in hosting the world.”
They emphasised that democratic protest is a sacred right, but not a licence for anarchy or for publicly humiliating the nation. “True political opposition challenges policy through intellectual rigor and parliamentary debate; it does not resort to stripping in front of foreign dignitaries to garner social media traction. This stunt has provided our adversaries with the very footage they need to undermine India’s success story. The “shirtless” stunt was a pathetic display of "brainless" politics that insults the intelligence of the Indian youth it claims to represent,” they said.
Expressing their collective condemnation of the protest, they concluded, “We, as concerned citizens, strongly condemn this attempt to hijack a national milestone for partisan theatre of absurdity. Politics must stop at the patriotic edge, and international forums must remain off-limits for the undignified.”