New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI) The Congress on Monday condemned the arrest and detention of its youth wing leaders in connection with the shirtless protest at the India AI Impact Summit last week and demanded that their “harassment” must stop.
“Peaceful dissent” should not be treated as a crime or a threat, the party said.
Seven MPs of the Congress, including Sasikanth Senthil, held a press conference at the party’s 24, Akbar Road headquarters here and expressed solidarity with those facing police action.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said, “Strongly condemn the detention of IYC President and cadre by the Delhi Police in connection with their protest at the AI Summit. This government forgets that protests are the heart of democracy, and not a crime.” “What our IYC workers did was to bravely expose how the PM is compromised. This was done in a peaceful manner, without any instigation of violence,” Venugopal said.
Terming the detention completely illegal, he said the Congress demands that all of them be released immediately and all charges against them be dropped.
Delhi Police has made seven arrests, including three from Gwalior, in connection with the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) at the summit and added charges like promoting enmity between different groups and imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration, an official said on Monday.
Jitendra Yadav, Raj Gujjar and Ajay Kumar were apprehended from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven, police said. Police have also detained IYC’s Uttar Pradesh general secretary Ritik alias Monty Shukla from Lalitpur and is questioning IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib.
Addressing the press conference, Senthil said, “This harassment must stop. Peaceful dissent should not be treated as a crime or a threat. Young people have the right to ask questions, especially when circumstances demand accountability. There is no justification for targeting an entire organisation or the families of those associated with it.” “We demand full disclosure of the FIR details, including the exact grounds of arrest for all detained individuals. The government must disclose the CCTV footage and any other evidence on the basis of which such serious sections have been invoked,” said Senthil, who was flanked by six other Congress MPs — Harish Chandra Meena, Captain Viriato Fernandes, Varun Chaudhry, Shreyas M Patel, Anil Kumar Yadav and Satpal Brahmachari.
He demanded that immediate legal access be provided to all detained individuals and their families.
Senthil said authorities must ensure that state power is not misused against families of those participating in democratic and peaceful protests.
He claimed that the protest at the summit was not a disruption but was driven by a cause.
IYC members spoke for millions of young Indians suffering from unemployment and other unresolved crises, he said.
“In the last few years, there has been no forum where these concerns were heard seriously. Even when we raised these issues in Parliament and demanded a proper debate, the Modi government chose silence and stonewalling. Disappointment has been the only response,” he said.
“Now, with the prime minister signing a deal that opens up the country’s data for sale, the youth are finally seeing the truth: there is no future under a compromised prime minister. Their protest was democratic, peaceful, brief and entirely in line with global standards,” Senthil asserted.
“We stand firmly with our IYC members who showed courage and conviction. What is truly shameful is that the Modi government has unleashed its entire machinery to suppress them,” he alleged.
On Friday, a group of IYC workers staged a dramatic shirtless protest at an exhibition hall during the India AI Impact Summit at the Bharat Mandapam here, walking around holding T-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by security personnel present at the venue.
Delhi Police arrested four IYC workers on the day of the protest, with officials saying a wider conspiracy angle in the matter was under investigation.
The issue triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP calling it a “shameful act to tarnish India’s image on the global stage” and the IYC defending it as a “peaceful” demonstration aimed at safeguarding national interests.
On its official X handle, the Congress condemned the “detention” of IYC president Chib and several other members by the Delhi Police in connection with the IYC protest.
“This detention is nothing but a blatant misuse of power and an attempt to silence dissent. This detention is completely illegal. We demand the immediate release of all those detained and the withdrawal of all charges,” the Congress said. PTI ASK DIV DIV
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