The Congress party on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of throttling India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem while mishandling the ongoing AI Summit in New Delhi.
Addressing media persons, Supriya Shrinate, Chairperson of the party’s Social Media and Digital Platforms, alleged that legal provisions were being misused to suppress AI-generated political satire and dissent.
“For the past few days, there has been a huge buzz about artificial intelligence across the country,” Shrinate noted. “But the Modi government has left no stone unturned in strangling India’s AI potential — first by handing over our data to America in a trade deal, and now through embarrassing mismanagement at the AI Summit and shameful revelations of theft and imitation that have tarnished India’s image.”
Shrinate claimed that in the last six weeks, nine AI-generated videos created by the Congress had been “forcefully deleted” at the behest of the Prime Minister and BJP-led governments.
“All these videos prominently displayed the legally required disclaimer ‘AI GENERATED VIDEO’ throughout their duration. There was no attempt to mislead or deceive anyone,” she said. “Yet the Prime Minister and the BJP are so terrified of the truth that they are even afraid of its dramatic AI representation.”
According to her, deletion orders were issued by police authorities in BJP-ruled states including Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, as well as directly by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“The same minister who is a key organiser of the AI Summit is having AI videos deleted on a large scale,” Shrinate alleged.
She said most takedown notices cited Sections 69(A) and 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 relating to defamation and public alarm.
“This is a blatant misuse of blocking provisions against political adversaries,” she said. “There is complete secrecy. At least tell us what was illegal in these videos. This is how authoritarian regimes function — by issuing arbitrary orders in secrecy.”
Shrinate also criticised the government’s new online censorship portal, ‘Sahyog’, alleging that it enables a small group of officials across ministries to order content takedowns without transparency.
“I welcome efforts to curb deepfakes,” she said. “But are political satires with AI disclaimers deepfakes? Is the government objecting to legitimate political commentary?”
She further alleged that police authorities had contacted and intimidated members of the Congress social media team, some of whom are in their early twenties.
“If you want to file cases, do it against me. I am the head of social media,” she said. “Fight politically. Don’t target 20-year-olds.”
Shrinate also accused major social media platforms — including Meta Platforms, YouTube and X — of “competing to surrender” to government pressure by removing content and demonetising creators critical of the government.
“If content creators lose their only source of income, how will they continue their work?” she asked. “The Prime Minister is afraid of questions and the truth.”
Turning to the ongoing AI Summit in New Delhi, Shrinate alleged serious organisational lapses, including poor internet connectivity, restrictions on devices and reported theft of equipment.
She also accused a private university of showcasing a Chinese-made robot as its own innovation. According to Shrinate, the robot was promoted by DD News and later shared on social media by Vaishnaw before being deleted “under pressure.”
“Imitation is not innovation,” she said. “When those in power lie without batting an eyelid, why would anyone else bother with hard work and truth?”
In a broader political comparison, Shrinate contrasted what she described as a “legacy of fake news” under the Modi government with the institutional foundations laid by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
“Nehru’s legacy is the IITs, AIIMS and IIMs — institutions that have produced remarkable global leaders,” she said.
She cited Indian-origin global CEOs including Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet and Google, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, and Arvind Krishna of IBM.
“These leaders studied in institutions established in the Nehruvian era and have become flag bearers of India worldwide,” she said.
Shrinate asserted that the Congress would continue to deploy AI and digital tools to question the government.
“For us, the Prime Minister is not above scrutiny. He must answer questions,” she said. “Deleting videos and curbing dissent only proves fear and failure.”