Amid the spat between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the shirtless protest by Youth Congress MPs at the AI Summit, a fresh slug spree has erupted, with the saffron party now alleging a smear campaign to defame the event through a coordinated social media campaign. The BJP alleged that the Congress paid social media influencers to create and circulate negative videos about the AI Summit as part of a “well-planned conspiracy”.
The party said members of the Congress’ public relations team approached influencers and offered them payments of between Rs 10,000 and Rs 40,000 in exchange for content that portrayed the summit as a failure.
BJP claims collusion to defame AI Summit
Speaking to X, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress ran a campaign to defame the AI Summit and India by paying influencers to “badmouth” the event.
“Congress paisaro, AI summit, Bharat Badnam Karo model. Congress ecosystem paid for badmouthing AI summit? BJP virodh me desh virodh? After the shirtless act, now this?,” he wrote in the post.
Influencers advocate campaign condemning AI Summit
The controversy intensified when several influencers publicly claimed to have received such offers. In a video shared online, members of Congress claimed to have been asked to produce scripted content criticizing the event.
Some of them said they had chat messages and audio recordings as evidence of financial transactions.
Shirtless protests
Last Friday, a group of workers from the Junior Chamber of India staged a shirtless protest inside the exhibition hall during the AI Impact Summit. The protesters, wearing T-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal, roamed the venue and were escorted by security guards.
Later, Delhi Police arrested eight IYC officials, including its president Srinivas BV, in connection with the incident.
Reacting strongly, the Bharatiya Janata Party described the Congress as “anti-India” and accused it of repeatedly trying to tarnish the country’s image in public. Congress has yet to issue a detailed response to the allegations.
Also read: How the showdown between Delhi Police and Shimla Police over the arrest of Junior Chamber staff unfolded | 10 points
