The Congress party has ramped up its criticism of the Narendra Modi government following allegations that Galgotias University attempted to pass off a Chinese-made robotic dog as a homegrown innovation. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi dismissed the AI summit as a "disorganised PR spectacle", while the party labelled the incident "brazenly shameless".
Writing on X, the Congress leader remarked: "Instead of leveraging India’s talent and data, the AI summit is a disorganised PR spectacle - Indian data up for sale, Chinese products showcased."
The opposition party claimed that the controversy has turned India into a "laughing stock" on the global stage, specifically noting that the country is now being ridiculed in Chinese media. This follows reports that robots manufactured in China were displayed as Indian breakthroughs at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
"This is truly embarrassing for India," the Congress said. "What is even more shameful is that Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is indulging in the same falsehood, promoting China's robots at the Indian summit. The government has caused irreparable damage to the image of the country."
The controversy first emerged when the Noida-based university showcased a surveillance robot called “Orion,” with professor Neha Singh claiming it was part of the university’s ₹350-crore AI initiative. However, the innovation turned out to be a Chinese-made Unitree Go2, available for ₹2.3 lakh.
Galgotias University found itself further embarrassed when its attempt at damage control was "fact-checked" by social media users. Despite the university issuing a statement insisting they never claimed to have built the robot — describing it instead as a "teaching tool" for students — an X community note pointed out that they had explicitly presented it as their own work during the summit.
Amid the fallout, reports emerged that the government had ordered the university to vacate the premises, though the institution maintained it had yet to receive any official communication to that effect.
Also read: Galgotias University asked to exit AI Impact Summit 2026: Sources
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