Congress counters PM Modi's 'ganda, nanga' remark with BJP's topless protest photo

The shirtless protest by Indian Youth Congress workers at the AI Impact Summit 2026 on Friday continued to fuel a political row with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attacking the opposition's leading party on Sunday. Modi called the protest an act of "dirty and naked politics" that “shamed the country” before international guests.

In response to Modi's remarks, the Congress shared an undated old photo of Haryana ex-minister Anil Vij in a public gathering, apparently a protest rally, where Vij and others in the crowd are shirtless.

The photo was shared by Congress leader Sreenivas BV, who has also served the president of the Indian Youth Congress.

“If stripping off a T-shirt to protest is called nudity? Then what do you call this?” Sreenivas wrote in the caption of the photo on X.

The protest by the IYC workers at AI Summit on Friday turned into a flashpoint between the Congress and the BJP, who slammed the Grand Old Party for the protest which it said embarrassed India in front of the foreign delegates present at the summit.

A video of the protest went viral on social media that shows several protestors walking into the venue while holding their t-shirts in their hands as they shouted anti-Modi slogans, echoing the party’s protests against the India-US trade deal in the parliament recently.

Police later said the protesters had registered for the summit online and had entered the summit venue wearing jackets or sweaters, which they removed after entering the main venue. They were whisked away by the police and detained. Four protesters have been arrested and sent to five-day police remand.

INDIA bloc allies on Youth Congress's shirtless protest

INDIA bloc partner and chief of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Akhilesh Yadav, opposed the shirtless protest and said that it was inappropriate, though he maintained his broader criticism of the BJP-led central government.

"We may have differences within India, and the BJP government is indeed cheating us all. But that is a separate thing. What Congress did on the global platform was not appropriate. They should have refrained from doing something that brings shame to our country in front of foreign delegates and world representatives," Yadav said while speaking to party workers in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, as per news agency ANI.

TMC's Babul Supriyo also opposed the protest and said that political fight should never be at the expense of the country's honour, adding that democracy guarantees the right to protest, but it also demands responsibility.

"The shirtless protest by members of the Indian Youth Congress at the AI Summit reflects poor judgment. At a forum attended by international leaders and global business figures, such conduct sends a wrong message about our national priorities," he said in an X post.

However, a spokesperson of Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, Aseem Waqar voiced his support for the protest and compared it to freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi's rebellion against the British colonial rule.

India-US trade deal at the heart of the controversy

At the centre of the protest row is the India-US trade deal which the Opposition has criticised as it alleged that the pact undermines the interests of the Indian farmers. Uncertainty now looms over the deal after the US Supreme Court on Friday rejected President Donald Trump's global tariffs and Trump responded with a 15% tariff.

The Congress criticised the centre following the developments with party leader Jairam Ramesh questioning the Centre as to why it did not wait for the SCOTUS on Trump tariffs before agreeing to a trade deal framework with Washington.

Ramesh wrote on X, "This is the calendar of the US Supreme Court - decided and released months in advance. It clearly marks out February 20 as a non-argument day - i.e., a day when arguments will not be heard and a judgment could be released. The Court had already heard arguments relating to tariffs on November 5, 2025, and it was well known that the Justices were not expected to be favourably inclined to President Trump's tariffs. Why then did India not wait until February 20 to sign the trade deal? What was the desperation to do so on February 2, 2026?"

Meanwhile, on Saturday Delhi's Patiala House Court rejected the bail plea of four accused in the AI summit protest case and observed that national interest and the country's international image cannot be compromised. Acts capable of disrupting globally significant events require serious scrutiny and effective investigation, the court observed.

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Annie Ruiz