New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) The recent shirtless protest by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) to disrupt the AI Impact Summit was a ‘bad idea’ and ‘counterproductive’ to India positioning itself a major AI player, Professor Nimit Chowdhary, Vice Chancellor, Rajasthan Technical University in Kota said on Monday.

Speaking to IANS, Chowdhary said the AI Summit was not about politics but was about India.

“Any effort, any attempt to disrupt it or to put up a show which is counterproductive was a bad idea. I think they (IYC) should not have done that. It was definitely a bad idea to do such an act,” he said.

There were several major tech players from across the globe at the Summit.

“Technology players were there. Head of the states were there. The protest had nothing to do with democracy,” Chowdhary stated.

He further said that when we are showcasing out talent and innovation, “it’s about India, it’s about youth of India, it’s about the future of India. Even if there were differences, the best thing was not to protest at this global platform. There are other sane ways to register your protest but this was definitely a poor show in bad taste,” he noted.

During their protest on February 20, Youth Congress members raised slogans over issues such as unemployment, inflation, and the reported India-US trade deal, triggering a political storm and sharp exchanges between the BJP-led Union government and the Opposition. The Delhi Police have arrested five people in the case.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday slammed Congress leaders for “praising” their youth wing’s protest. “Unfortunately, the leaders of the oldest party of the country are praising those who embarrassed the country instead of criticising them,” the PM said.

Chowdhary said the India AI Impact Summit was an outstanding event.

“It definitely sent out a very strong message that India is there on the world stage and would be a major player as far as AI is concerned. This is definitely going to strengthen India’s position in global AI discussions,” said Chowdhary.

–IANS

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