New Delhi, Feb 21 (UNI) Congress leader Supriya Shrinate on Saturday defended the protest staged by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) during the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, describing the demonstrators as “brave” for raising their voices in support of farmers, youth, and energy security, while opposing the India–US trade deal.
Around 10 IYC workers were detained on Friday after they allegedly tricked their way into Bharat Mandapam and briefly raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, police said.
The protesters entered the venue wearing or carrying white T-shirts bearing images of PM Modi and US President Donald Trump, along with slogans such as “India-US Trade Deal” and “PM is compromised,” leading to heated exchanges with some attendees.
Shrinate termed the protest a peaceful expression of dissent and questioned the criticism directed at the youth leaders, who stood up for the nation at a place where they will be heard. According to her, the demonstration highlighted concerns over what she described as a “compromise” of India’s identity under the interim trade agreement.
“I’m curious to know what wrong the Youth Congress has done. The Youth Congress is the voice of this country. The youth went and protested peacefully. And who is outraged by this protest? What’s the outrage?” she said.
She alleged that the interim trade agreement with the United States would harm Indian farmers and compromise data security. “Did these young people demonstrate how the Prime Minister has compromised India’s identity with this agreement? How did he make a compromise through this interim trade deal that will destroy India’s farmers and hand all our data over to America?” she asked.
Shrinate also took a swipe at the summit organisers, alleging that “fake Chinese robots” were showcased at the event. “Will those who brought fake Chinese robots to this summit now display their outrage?” she said.
The BJP strongly criticised the protest. Addressing a press conference in the national capital, BJP National Spokesperson Dr. Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress party is “against the idea of India.” He claimed that four individuals, including a National Secretary of the Youth Congress, had been arrested and described the protest as a deliberate attempt to malign the country’s image. He further accused Congress of failing to recognise that India, not the BJP, was hosting the AI summit.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday. The court ruled in a 6-3 decision that Trump’s expanded use of the IEEPA exceeded his authority, dealing a massive blow to a cornerstone of the president’s economic agenda.
The court’s ruling found tariffs that Trump imposed under an emergency powers law were unconstitutional, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.
On the US Supreme Court’s ruling on American tariffs, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that Indian farmers would be severely impacted by trade imbalances.
“As of today, our country is facing an 18% tariff. Exports from the US are subject to a 0% tariff. This is a huge fraud and deception against the farmers of this country. If so much product comes from the US, the farmers here won’t even get Rs 1,000 or Rs 1,500 for their produce, leaving them with no option but suicide. This is a very serious issue and a huge deception, and Congress has decided to stand with the farmers of the entire country,” he said.
