Shirtless protest at AI Summit: Delhi Police nabs Youth Congress worker in Gwalior, total arrests 5
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has made the fifth arrest in connection with the shirtless protest by the Indian Youth Congress workers at the AI Impact Summit here last week, an official said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Jitendra Yadav, was apprehended from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five, police said.
On Friday, a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers staged a dramatic shirtless protest at an exhibition hall during the AI Impact Summit at the Bharat Mandapam, walking around holding T-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by security personnel present at the venue.
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Delhi Police arrested four IYC workers on the day of the protest, with officials saying a wider conspiracy angle in the matter was under investigation.
The issue triggered a political slugfest with the BJP calling it a “shameful act to tarnish India’s image on the global stage”, and the IYC defending it as a “peaceful” demonstration aimed at safeguarding national interests.
According to police, the IYC workers on Friday entered the lobby area of Hall No. 5 and raised slogans after removing the T-shirts worn under their shirts.
According to police sources, the protesters allegedly registered online to obtain QR codes to enter the venue. The accused had initially planned to paste printed stickers on black umbrellas and sneak them into the Bharat Mandapam.
However, they later felt that the black umbrellas might draw the attention of the security personnel manning the gates, so they changed their plan and got the printed stickers placed on T-shirts and wore them under their shirts, a source said.
Once inside, they raised slogans after removing the shirts worn over slogan-printed T-shirts, which read “PM is compromised”, “India-US Trade Deal” and “Epstein Files”.
The sources claimed the protesters also manhandled some police officers on duty, and the entire matter is under investigation.
The investigators are also probing the financial trail behind the protest, including who funded printing slogans on the T-shirts.
IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib was earlier questioned in connection with the case, and more names have surfaced during interrogation of the accused, the sources said.
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Gujarat voted for development & good governance, says Pradhan as BJP sweeps local body polls
New Delhi (PTI): Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said the people of Gujarat have reaffirmed their faith in the politics of development, stability and good governance as the BJP swept the local body elections by winning all 15 municipal corporations and 33 out of 34 district panchayats in the state.
Thanking the voters, Pradhan said the result is a testament to the people's unwavering trust in the BJP, the relentless hard work of the party workers and the strength of the organisation under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
“The people of Gujarat have once again made it clear that their trust remains firmly aligned with the politics of development, stability and good governance. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Gujarat for the support received by the BJP in the local body elections,” Pradhan posted on X.
“Under the guidance of the Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of Gujarat's Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, this result is a remarkable testament to the people's unwavering trust, the relentless hard work of the Gujarat BJP workers, and the strength of the organisation,” he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Gujarat for what he termed a "sweeping mandate" in the local body polls, saying the bond between the state and the BJP has grown even stronger.
Modi said people have voted for the politics of good governance, and assured that the party would work harder to take Gujarat to new heights of progress.
Though final results for 250 taluka panchayats and 84 municipalities were awaited, data from the State Election Commission (SEC) showed that the ruling BJP won most of these local bodies while some were bagged by the Congress, AAP and Independents.
Polling was held on Sunday for 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats.
The BJP emerged a clear winner in the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Rajkot, besides the newly created municipal corporations of Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
