NEW DELHI: A group of 277 prominent personalities on Tuesday issued a joint statement condemning the “shirtless” protest by workers of the Indian Youth Congress during the AI Impact Summit last week, describing it as a “grotesque betrayal of national dignity.”Also Read | ‘Rioting charges added to FIR’: Delhi Police on Youth Congress ‘shirtless’ protestThe signatories include 149 former officers from the armed forces and the IPS, 102 retired bureaucrats, and 26 ex-judges. They said they are “shocked beyond belief.”“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. At a time when some of the world’s most influential tech leaders, global CEOs and international delegates had gathered to witness India’s rise as a key architect of the future, this scripted tantrum served only to defame the country on the global stage,” the statement read.The release further contended that by choosing a high-level diplomatic and technological forum for their demonstration, the protesters “prioritised personal optics over the prestige of the Republic.”The signatories further described the protest as a “premeditated act of sabotage” rather than a “spontaneous expression of dissent.”“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 behaviour is not ‘activism’ — it is an ‘anti-national disruption’ designed to signal instability to global investors and partners,” the statement asserted.“For any political entity to use an international summit as the 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,” it added.The eminent personalities acknowledged that democratic protest is a fundamental right, but stressed that “it is not a license for anarchy or the public humiliation of the nation.” They condemned what they described as “an 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 internal squabbles of any political party. Such actions did not hurt a government; they hurt a nation. We call for a collective rejection of any political culture that finds pride in the public defamation of the Motherland,” they concluded.(With ANI inputs)
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