Khera: ‘Peaceful’ protest reflected anger felt by country’s youth

New Delhi: Hours after a Indian Youth Congress group held a shirtless protest at the global AI summit venue on Friday and the IYC chief was fending off criticism online throughout the day, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, around 6:40 pm, put out the party's official stand, describing the demonstration as "peaceful" and one that reflected the anger felt by the country's youth.In a video message on X, Khera said since the protest, it had been claimed that "it was wrong to do this protest at the venue of the summit and... it has tarnished the image of the country". Congress general secretary Jair-am Ramesh reposted Khera's video statement.Earlier, IYC had put out a press statement, while its national president, Uday Bhanu Chib, put out a series of videos, photos and posts on social media to defend his members. "Protesting and raising our voice against decisions taken against the national interest is our constitutional right," Chib said in a video message on X. IYC said, "The peaceful demonstration was aimed at safeguarding national interests."Khera asked, "Where should a protest be held? Protest is held where it is visible to people and where media is present", as he challenged those who questioned the protest at India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam."If we speak in Parliament, then leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi becomes the biggest threat for the nation; if we come out on the streets, we are called ‘rashtra virodhi' (anti-national). Where do we speak?" Khera asked, claiming the protest brought focus on the challenges that need to be addressed.IYC stated, "We are not against the summit. We are against any compromise with India's interests. We will ne-ver allow the interests of the country's youths and farmers to be compromised."