Rahul Gandhi’s pointed takedown of the India AI Impact Summit has thrust the event into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. At the heart of the uproar: a robot dog from China paraded as domestic achievement by a university participant. ‘This AI Summit is nothing but a disorganized PR tamasha,’ the Congress MP declared on X.
Gandhi’s post cut deep: ‘Rather than capitalizing on India’s talent and data, they’re selling our data and showcasing Chinese products.’ The summit, meant to spotlight AI advancements, has instead become synonymous with embarrassment, especially with Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in attendance.
Congress led the charge beforehand, posting on X about the ‘hilarious’ global image damage. ‘Government has made India a joke worldwide with this AI Summit—Chinese robot shown as Indian. Chinese media laughs at us. Utterly shameful.’ They didn’t spare Vaishnaw: ‘Ministers are promoting Chinese tech in our summit, squandering our AI leadership potential.’
The party bemoaned lost opportunities. ‘In AI, where India’s data could make us world leaders, they’ve made it a mockery. The harm is irreversible.’
AAP echoed the sentiment, branding the event a BJP hallmark of fraud. ‘Copy-paste government runs a Vaishnaw-supervised AI Summit where a private university imports a Chinese robot dog, passes it as their own. Global mockery of our scientists and engineers.’
This incident raises alarms on transparency in tech demos, foreign influence in Indian events, and policy priorities. With opposition voices united, pressure mounts for accountability. Can India reclaim its AI narrative from this ‘tamasha’?