New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) A group of former Chief Justices of High Courts, senior High Court judges, senior civil servants and armed forces veterans have issued a joint statement condemning the protest staged by members of the Indian Youth Congress during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, terming the episode a “national disgrace” that undermined India’s global standing.
The signatories said they were “shocked beyond belief” at the recent “unpardonable spectacle” in which protesters staged a shirtless demonstration inside the high-security venue hosting international delegates, global technology leaders and corporate executives.
Calling the incident a “grotesque betrayal of national dignity”, the statement said the protest had unfolded at a moment when India was showcasing its technological ambitions before the world.
“At a time when the world’s most influential tech leaders, global CEOs and international delegates gathered to witness India’s ascent as a primary architect of the future, this scripted tantrum served only to defame the country on the global stage,” the statement said.
According to the signatories, the protest was not a spontaneous act of dissent but a “premeditated act of sabotage”, claiming that individuals entered the secure international venue using authorised QR codes before engaging in “vulgar sloganeering”. Such conduct constituted not merely political expression but “an anti-national disruption designed to signal instability to global investors and partners,” the statement said.
It added that democratic protest remains a legitimate constitutional right, but warned that it cannot become “a licence for anarchy or the public humiliation of the nation.” “True political opposition challenges policy through intellectual rigour and parliamentary debate; it does not resort to stripping in front of foreign dignitaries to garner social media traction,” the statement said.
The signatories further cautioned that international forums must remain insulated from partisan political theatrics, observing that such actions “did not hurt a government; they hurt a nation”. Calling for collective condemnation across political and civil society lines, the statement urged stakeholders to reject any political culture that “finds pride in the public defamation of the Motherland”.
The joint statement has been signed by an extensive list of public figures, including former Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court Justice V.S. Kokje, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice B.C. Patel, former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, ex-RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi.
–IANS
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