In a fiery address to the press in New Delhi, senior Congress figure Sachin Pilot condemned the Modi government’s aggressive stance against Youth Congress protesters at the AI Summit while questioning the strategic wisdom of PM Modi’s Israel tour.
Defending the bail of IYC chief Uday Bhanu Chib, Pilot described the arrests as an overreaction. ‘Our Youth Congress workers triggered such frenzy in the government that they invoked serious charges, even though Chib wasn’t even there,’ he said. Pilot challenged the notion that a small group’s T-shirt protest posed a national security risk.
He framed the incident as part of a broader pattern of stifling dissent through political muscle. ‘Protests happen at every big event, but this was pure retaliation—locking up youth for speaking out,’ Pilot stated. The Congress leader reaffirmed solidarity with the detained activists, stressing that such democratic expression is non-negotiable.
On a separate note, Pilot congratulated Vinod Jakhar on assuming the NSUI national presidency, praising his perseverance from Rajasthan roots to national leadership.
Turning to foreign affairs, Pilot lambasted the Israel visit’s timing amid regional sensitivities. ‘We’ve always backed the two-nation solution, but this feels like a deviation from our foreign policy principles,’ he observed. Pilot warned that basing diplomacy on personal rapport over national advantage harms India long-term, calling for policies centered on the nation’s core interests above all.