Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday defended the “largest-ever” AI-related congregation in the country, bringing hordes of tech giants and global leaders under one roof.The duo accused the Congress of stooping low to portray India negatively to serves their political interests.In a post on X, Shekhawat said, “The Congress party and its ‘ever-youth leader’ will stoop to any level to portray India negatively, if it serves their political interests. If you need proof, just look at the negative social media posts around the AI Summit or the India–US trade deal, a clear pattern emerges. Most of those fake narratives trace back to the same political ecosystem.”Chandrasekhar, the former Information and Technology (IT) minister, drew a comparison between the AI Summits, held in India, Europe and other parts of the world in the past two years, sharing the scale and intensity of participation, and in turn suggesting the possible reason behind botched-up arrangements at the Bharat Mandapam.“Attendance at the India AI Impact Summit-2026 has already reached over 3,00,000, as compared to the few thousands in other summits,” he said on X.“A similar AI Summit in UK’s Bletchley Park (November 2023) drew attendees in the range of hundreds while in South Korea’s Seoul (May 2024), similar turnout occurred with people participating in hybrid mode while the one in France’s Paris (February 2005) saw moderate congregation with over few thousand AI enthusiasts and experts gathering for the deliberations,” he said in a series of posts.Chandrasekhar further said that the India AI Impact Summit showcases India’s capability and strength in demonstrating before the world on how it can harness technology and innovation for the benefit of 1.4 crore Indians.The former Union minister also admitted that the summit had some organizational flaws, and attributed the alleged mismanagement to the huge participation of Indians.“This summit represents an important milestone for PM Modi’s vision of an India Techade,” he added.He also stated that Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and his team were considerate enough to express regret for some inconvenience at the Summit; however, it was the unprecedented interest and excitement among the countrymen regarding India’s role and contribution in shaping the AI landscape that led to unprecedented circumstances, though isolated.Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur also praised the Summit, saying the “rise of AI will come from the bottom of the pyramid”.”Auditorium overflowed with young people eager to listen and learn about AI at the India AI Impact Summit. The enthusiasm and eagerness convinces me that India is soon going to be a superpower in AI. But we need to look at AI from an Indian point of view. Just like we looked at the rise of the Digital world from an Indian point of view. And the Western models won’t work,” he said in a social media post along with a picture of the crowd.”In India, the rise of AI will come from the bottom of the Pyramid. From where it is most needed .. and where true need based intuition exists,” he added.Notably, the Opposition lambasted the government over “inept and inefficient” handling of the event, which it claimed could have been a game-changer.The issue also found traction on social media, eliciting remarks from netizens and the Congress holding the Centre accountable for the “chaos” that unfolded. It said AI could have been a showpiece at the AI event, but it became a “victim of a PR hungry government”.