• Adv. Rajiv Sharma

Recently, the Union Government organized a mega event on Artificial Intelligence in February 2026 in Delhi. It was organized amidst falling reputation of Prime Minister Modi, who is being accused of compromising the country’s vital interests to save him from the potential revelations in Epstein files and the outcome of a criminal trial in the US against his close friend Gautam Adani. The Prime Minister looks desperate to wriggle out from under the shadow of the ignominious stigma that he has been carrying since President Trump has been snubbing him repeatedly and dictating him unacceptable terms.

The ‘India AI Impact Summit’ in New Delhi was aimed at redeeming the image of the Prime Minister, but it turned out to be yet another humiliating international face-plant. What was hyped endlessly by the BJP’s propaganda machine as a grand event to attract foreign investment, turned out to be a toxic cocktail of staggering incompetence, shameless fraud, crude personal theatrics, and violent police action against peaceful protesters.

The unfortunate developments at the summit made us a butt of jokes in the international circuit. Let us try to understand the four glaring disasters that turned this summit into Modi’s latest global disgrace.

First, the jaw-dropping administrative lapses showcased the incompetence and inefficiency of the Modi government. The delegates and dignitaries from dozens of countries reached Delhi to face utter bedlam and chaos on the day of their arrival. There were huge traffic jams en route to Bharat Mandapam due to the movement of the VIPs. While the foreign delegates and dignitaries should have been considered as honoured guests but the BJP politicians with their security personnel ruled the streets, causing endless discomfort to the guests from abroad. Once, at the Mandapam, the foreign delegates faced long queues, unending glitches at the registration and accreditation counters, overcrowding, and long delays. The foreign CEOs and top AI minds stood out in open for long hours without seating arrangement and without water and food. When the complaints poured in from all quarters, a Union Minister was forced to apologise on behalf of the government of India. But a mere apology was not enough. The government’s poor management of the summit was all over the place in foreign press and media channels.

It is well-known now that the first priority of PM Modi has been to promote his own personality cult and image. This trait of PM Modi was visible in his boorish and undignified behaviour when he joined the CEOs of global tech giants on the stage on the penultimate day of the summit. In a sudden, unexpected move, PM Modi grabbed the hands of two CEOs standing on his left and right and hoisted their arms skyward. The sudden jerky action of the Prime Minister left the CEOs confused and perplexed. The act left the audience in the hall, which consisted of global tech titans and serious policy makers, ‘shell shocked’ and stunned. The incident reinforced Modi’s image of a leader more interested in drama than in substance. Such behaviour spoiled India’s image as a potential investment destination for AI research and development.

Then came the immoral fraud of Galgotias University. This university was paraded as a star “knowledge partner,” in the field of AI by the government. At their stall, they displayed “Orion,” a robotic dog, bought from China and deceitfully labelled it as ‘Made in India’. Indian media channels further highlighted the false claim of the University as evidence of India’s indigenous AI achievements. The experts and the social media activists soon discovered the fraud. ‘Orion’ was, in fact, a cheap Chinese robotic toy, which was not invented or manufactured in India but was imported by the University from China.

The global media exploded in mockery and ridicule at the sheer fraud and deception, displayed by the University and complicity of the organisers, who were none other than the government of India, in allowing such fraudulent act to happen. The BBC, Al Jazeera, AP, Bloomberg, NBC, South China Morning Post—ran savage headlines: “Indian university caught claiming Chinese robot as own,” “Fraud at Modi’s AI summit.” etc, etc.

The saga of blunders committed by the Modi government did not end here. The brutal use of violent force by Delhi police on the peaceful protestors of Indian Youth Congress was seen by the whole world with horror.

A few activists of Indian Youth Congress gathered on the last day of the summit to protest against Modi’s abject surrender before the USA and to highlight that India’s Prime Minister has been compromised. What followed was the use of brute violent force by the Delhi Police working under the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the peaceful protestors. They were booked under the draconian provisions of criminal laws. Even the IYC Chief Uday Bhanu Chib, who was not present at the protest site, was arrested. The courts took some time to understand that the police action was highly disproportionate before releasing them on bail.

This one incident convinced the global leaders that there is no place for dissent in today’s India and if some one dares to exercise his constitutional right to peacefully protest against any anti-people and anti-India act of the government, he or she will be crushed with a heavy hand.

The BJP is the political wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, whose founding members were influenced by Mussolini’s idea of fascism and Hitler’s doctrine of racial purity. Before 1947, the RSS allied with the Muslim league to oppose India’s glorious freedom struggle. Just after independence, it vehemently opposed the Constitution and its provisions of equality, inclusiveness, and socialism.

The core ideology of the RSS has remained the same since 1925, when it was established. Hence, it is obvious that the foundational principles of the RSS are in conflict with many provisions of the Constitution. In the last 12 years, when the RSS has tightened its hold on the governance of India, their hidden agenda is slowly sprouting out. PM Modi has been systematically attempting to destroy the values enshrined in the Constitution. This is causing colossal damage to the country.

Therefore, the reason as to why the people of the country are in a state of limbo today is that the BJP government, like its mentor RSS, is also steeped in the communal and exclusionary ideology. Hence, it is also in conflict with the humanistic provisions of the Constitution, which form the very basis of modern India and the principle of unity in diversity. It is precisely due to this conflict that the BJP government has not been able to formulate and implement a single long-term egalitarian policy in the last more than 11 years.

It is precisely due to the same conflict that the BJP government is unable to smoothly organize even a short-term program like ‘India AI Impact Summit’, wherein they hopped from one blunder to the other.

All this leaves us in no doubt that the continuation of this very conflict between the ideology of the RSS and the BJP on one hand and the values enshrined in the Constitution on the other hand, will lead to more confusion, chaos and turmoil in the country.

This leaves us Indians with just one existential choice, that unless the electoral course which allowed anti-constitution forces to rule the country is not corrected, the country will not be able to embark upon the road to growth and development in real sense.

The author is General Secretary and Chief Spokesperson of Chandigarh Congress