New Delhi erupted in political controversy as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi unleashed a scathing attack on the India AI Impact Summit. The flashpoint? A private university showcasing a Chinese-made robot dog as its own innovation. Gandhi branded the entire event a ‘disorganized PR circus,’ accusing organizers of peddling foreign tech while sidelining India’s true potential.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Gandhi didn’t mince words. ‘Instead of leveraging India’s talent and data, the AI Summit has turned into a disorganized PR tamasha,’ he posted. ‘Indian data is being sold off, and Chinese products are on display.’ His remarks came amid growing outrage over the summit, where Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was present, allegedly endorsing the misrepresentation.
The Congress party had already fired the first salvo. In a blistering X post, they highlighted how the government had made India a laughingstock globally. ‘Chinese robots are being passed off as our own at the AI Summit. Chinese media is mocking us. This is shameful for India,’ the party stated. They reserved special ire for Vaishnaw, accusing him of promoting Chinese hardware in an Indian forum.
The damage, they argued, is irreparable. India, with its vast data resources, could lead the world in AI. Yet, the summit has reduced this promise to a farce. ‘The government has turned a field where we could dominate into a joke,’ Congress lamented.
Not to be outdone, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) piled on. They called out the BJP’s ‘copy-paste’ governance model, pointing to the robot dog scam as emblematic. Under Vaishnaw’s oversight, a university smuggled in a Chinese robot, claiming it as homegrown research. ‘This fraud is making Indian scientists and engineers a global joke,’ AAP warned.
As the summit continues, questions swirl about oversight, national pride, and India’s AI ambitions. Will this debacle prompt real reforms, or is it just another political football? The opposition’s unified front signals deeper scrutiny ahead.