More than 270 former judges, retired civil servants and veterans of the armed forces have strongly criticised the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) over its recent shirtless protest at Bharat Mandapam during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, describing the episode as a “national disgrace”.
In a joint statement titled “A National Disgrace at Bharat Mandapam”, the signatories, numbering 277 in the released list, including 149 veterans from the three services, 102 retired bureaucrats and 26 former judges, condemned the demonstration as a “grotesque betrayal of national dignity”.
Among those who endorsed the statement are former Delhi High Court judge SN Dhingra and retired IPS officer BL Vohra, who earlier served as Director General of Police in Tripura.
Expressing “shock beyond belief,” the group said the protest, in which IYC members removed their shirts inside the summit venue to display anti-government slogans, had tarnished India’s image at a time when global technology leaders and international delegates were present.
“The recent unpardonable spectacle at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where members of the Indian Youth Congress staged a ‘shirtless’ protest within the corridors of Bharat Mandapam, is a grotesque betrayal of national dignity,” the statement read.
The signatories said the timing and venue of the protest were particularly damaging. “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,” they stated.
Alleging that the protest was pre-planned, the group said, “It is even more disgusting because this was not a spontaneous expression of dissent; but it was a premeditated act of sabotage.” They further claimed that entering a “secure, international venue under the guise of legitimate participants using QR codes, only to strip and engage in vulgar sloganeering, is a breach of both security and basic decorum.”
Describing the act as more than mere protest, the statement said, “Such behaviour is not ‘activism’—it is ‘an anti-national disruption’ designed to signal instability to global investors and partners.”
The signatories emphasised that while democratic protest is a constitutional right, it must be exercised responsibly. “Democratic protest is a sacred right, but it is not a licence for anarchy or the public humiliation of the nation,” they said, adding that “true political opposition challenges policy through intellectual rigor and parliamentary debate; it does not resort to stripping in front of foreign dignitaries to garner social media traction.”
Calling the demonstration a “pathetic display of ‘brainless’ politics,” the group said the incident had handed adversaries material to question India’s global standing. “This stunt has provided our adversaries with the very footage they need to undermine India’s success story,” the statement noted.
They concluded with an appeal for restraint in political conduct at international forums. “Politics must stop at the patriotic edge, and international forums must remain off-limits for the undignified internal squabbles of any political party. Such actions did not hurt a government; they hurt a nation,” the statement said, urging a “collective rejection of any political culture that finds pride in the public defamation of the Motherland.”