Parliamentary panel passes resolution against AI summit protests, opposition MPs hold back India News

NEW DELHI: The heated political debate sparked by the Youth Congress’ protest at the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit found an echo at a parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday, which passed a resolution condemning the incident amid objections from lawmakers from different opposition parties.The resolution shared by Nishikant Dubey, chairman of the panel, said: “The committee expresses its appreciation to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for successfully organizing the India AI Impact Summit under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The committee also condemns the unfortunate incident that occurred on February 20, 2026 at the venue of the India AI Summit.”Sources said the bill was passed with a majority vote, with 10 MPs from the BJP-led alliance voting in favor and six MPs from the Congress, TMC, UBT and Samajwadi Party voting against.While it is unusual for parliamentary committees to take up issues outside their agenda, official sources said the rules allow them to express their views on important issues, especially since the summit was hosted by the Ministry of Information Technology, which in turn is overseen by a panel headed by Dube.One opposition MP claimed they were protesting because the committee was getting involved in “politics” by protesting, noting that even members of the ANC voted against the resolution, although some, such as the Samajwadi Party, objected to the topless demonstration by Youth Congress members.The resolution was moved by BJP MP Amar Pal Maurya. He told TOI, “This resolution is to condemn this attempt to tarnish the image of the country and is not directed at any political party. Everyone should support it. In fact, those who do not support are playing politics.”Sources said those who voted against include SS(UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Samajwadi Party’s Devesh Shakya and TMC’s Saket Gokhale.The resolution hailed the five-day summit as a “great success” and highlighted the declarations from 91 countries and leading companies committed to the development of inclusive artificial intelligence. The two companies announced investments of over $200 billion in artificial intelligence in India, adding that Google has committed to laying a direct submarine cable connection between India and the United States, in addition to building a big data center in India.