New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva Monday expressed her disagreement with the Indian Youth Congress’s (IYC’s) protest at India AI Impact Summit at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam last week, underscoring the need for “dignity and discipline” at international events.
Alva, who later clarified that she remains committed to the Congress, is the first prominent face of the principal opposition party to differ with its youth wing’s approach—which has been endorsed by many leaders close to the party high command.
“I think at international events there has to be dignity, there has to be discipline, and there has to be a sense of responsibility,” Alva told reporters.
The BJP, latching on to her remarks, opened a fresh front against the Congress, accusing it of denigrating the country.
BJP spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan said Alva’s statement has shown that even senior Congress leaders are not comfortable with the manner in which the Youth Congress protested at the summit attended by delegates from across the world.
“When your own former Union Minister like Margaret Alva says international platforms demand dignity, discipline and responsibility, what exactly was Youth Congress doing at the India AI Summit? India is showcasing its technological rise to the world, but Congress can’t rise above disruption politics. Global stage pe bhi street politics? This is not opposition. This is embarrassment,” Paswan wrote on X.
BJP leader Amar Patnaik said Alva’s remark was illustrative of the Congress’s “fall”.
“It is quite a moment when their own senior leadership has to distance itself from the hooliganism of the Youth Congress. While the world was looking at Bharat as a global leader during the India AI Summit, the Congress was busy with ‘topless and brainless’ antics that only served to embarrass the nation. It is a shame that instead of contributing to the country’s progress, they are obsessed with cheap stunts that even their own veterans can no longer defend,” Patnaik said in a statement.
Last Friday, some IYC workers staged a shirtless protest at an exhibition hall during the AI Impact Summit, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “compromised” in the context of the India-US interim trade deal.
After her statement became a political embarrassment for the Congress, Alva, 83, a multiple-term parliamentarian who has served as governor of several states issued a clarification, flagging attempts to “spin a personal opinion into complex political drama”.
“Unlike the RSS and BJP, the Congress Party has always allowed and welcomed diverse points of view, dissent, and positive criticism. My views on the protest at the AI Conference are personal and do not diminish my unwavering commitment to the Congress Party and its ideology,” she posted on X.
Unlike the RSS & the BJP the Congress Party has always allowed & welcomed diverse points of view, dissent & positive criticism. My views on the protest at the AI Conference are personal and do not diminish my unwavering commitment to the Congress Party & its ideology.
— Margaret Alva (@alva_margaret) February 23, 2026
‘Detention completely illegal’: Venugopal
Meanwhile, AICC General Secretary K. C. Venugopal slammed action taken against IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib and others in connection with the protest, calling their detention “completely illegal”.
“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,” he wrote on X.
He further commented that what IYC workers did was “bravely expose how the PM is compromised”.
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… https://t.co/ZOjY7HPKkm
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) February 23, 2026
“This was done in a peaceful manner, without any instigation of violence. This detention is completely illegal. We demand that they all be released immediately and all charges be dropped.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)