LG Saxena slams Youth Congress AI summit protest as ‘malicious’
Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Tuesday told a Congress delegation that the “shirtless” demonstration by its youth wing at the AI Summit was “ill-conceived and malicious” when it met him to complain about the arrest of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) leaders in connection with the incident.
A delegation of the Congress Party, comprising party treasurer Ajay Maken, Delhi Congress President Devendra Yadav and other leaders, called on the LG and presented a memorandum to him on the recent police action against Youth Congress leaders.
The LG office in a post on X said, “Lt Governor, while receiving the memorandum, told the delegation categorically that, without prejudice to the legal merits of the case, the act of the Youth Congress volunteers was prima facie aimed at derogating the nation, on an occasion where an extremely important and topical international event was underway.”
The LG also underlined that the AI Summit was not being hosted by any individual or a political party, but by India as a nation. The “undignified protest” at the venue of the summit was “ill-conceived, malicious” and amounted to jeopardising our national image on the international fora, said the post.
The representation by Congress leaders claimed that the IYC demonstration was “symbolic and political” in nature and did not involve violence, damage to property or threat to public safety. The Congress leaders urged that enforcement action in matters involving political dissent should be guided by proportionality and constitutional protection of free expression, said a Delhi Congress statement.
