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NEW DELHI: The Modi government’s ambitious AI Summit on Wednesday spiralled into a political flashpoint after opposition leaders mounted a coordinated attack over the display of a commercially available Chinese robot by Galgotias University as an in-house innovation.What began as online scepticism over the robotic dog branded “Orion” soon escalated into a broader political row, with leaders from the Trinamool Congress, CPI(M) and Shiv Sena (UBT) questioning the credibility of the summit and targeting I-T minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.The quadruped robot, showcased at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam and featured on DD News, was identified by observers as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available product made by Chinese robotics firm Unitree. The device is reportedly sold in India for Rs 2 to 3 lakh.Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra launched a sharp attack on Vaishnaw, who also holds the Railways and Information and Broadcasting portfolios. She shared a now-deleted post in which the minister had purportedly praised the exhibit.In the post, as was posted by the TMC leader, Vaishnaw had said: “Bharat’s sovereign models are performing well on global benchmarks.”Taking aim at the minister, Moitra wrote: “Deleting tweets doesn’t change reality @AshwiniVaishnaw – you have made India a laughing stock. Quit the chair if you can’t do your job. Maybe join Galgotia as Professor of Spin?”CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas alleged close links between the university and BJP leaders.“Galgotias University has enjoyed the patronage and support of prominent BJP leaders, with Dr Sambit Patra to Union Minister Piyush Goyal having graced various university programmes. It is no surprise that the institution frequently emphasises the ‘Viksit Bharat’ slogan,” Brittas said.“This close association was evident when the university blatantly showcased a commercially available Chinese robotic dog as an in-house invention, branding it as ‘Orion’ at the AI Summit, which was promoted in a tweet by none other than the IT minister! Whether ousted from the event or not, Galgotias University is set to remain firmly in the BJP’s orbit,” he said.Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi described the episode as damaging.“Galgotias University passing off Chinese robot as own invention at the AI Summit is a shame. Chinese media having a field day over it makes it worse. All this could have been avoided if before allotting the pavilions a thorough credibility check was done of companies, universities, start-ups and others,” Chaturvedi said.“The damage this has caused for India and the Summit is big. Asking the university to vacate their pavilion was a good step, I feel some strict penalty must also be imposed on them,” she said.Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale questioned the minister’s silence and the role of state broadcaster DD News.“A private university called Galgotias tried to pass off a Go2 Chinese robot as their own invention at the India AI Summit. But here’s the real shameful part: Government-run DD News did an entire feature promoting them. Today, DD News and BJP are the same. The channel runs as a propaganda outlet for the BJP,” Gokhale said.“Both the Ministry for Information Technology, which organised the AI Summit, and the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting, which controls DD News, are headed by the same minister. Was this fraud perpetrated with the full knowledge of Modi’s minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for cheap PR?” Gokhale asked.“Did the BJP receive anything in return from this private university for being given a platform at the summit by a government channel? This incident has become a global embarrassment. Is the purpose of the India AI Summit merely to promote Modi even through fraudulent means?” the TMC leader asked.“Why has there been pin drop silence from Ashwini Vaishnaw and the government on this shameful incident?” he asked.As the controversy intensified, the government asked Galgotias University to vacate its pavilion at the summit. IT Secretary S Krishnan later said the government does not want any exhibitor to showcase items that are not their own.The university subsequently issued a statement expressing regret over the confusion, saying it arose because professor Neha Singh, who was managing the stall, was unaware of the product’s technical origins.What was intended to highlight India’s AI ambitions has instead triggered a sharp political storm, with the opposition framing the episode as a question of credibility, oversight and transparency at a flagship national event.
Source: Times of India
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