Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has praised the ongoing India AI Impact Summit being held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The former Union Minister said the first two days of the major event have gone “extremely well” and added that “some glitches” are bound to happen at large gatherings.
Tharoor said it was impressive to see presidents, prime ministers and other global leaders attending the summit. According to him, they have come with a strong message of building a more connected world when it comes to artificial intelligence development.
“But by and large what has been impressive is the attendance… a number of presidents, prime ministers, and world leaders are here, and they’ve come with a strong message of wanting to see a newly integrated world in AI development, where the impact upon society would be the principle,” Tharoor said.
His remarks came a day after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the AI Summit in Delhi a “disorganised PR spectacle” and alleged that Chinese products were being displayed there.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders of the party have also criticised the summit. They claimed that poor management had caused “embarrassment” for the country.
Responding to criticism about “some glitches”, Tharoor said such issues are normal at big international events.
“Though I have not had the chance to go to the summit, I am speaking there on Friday. From what I understand, these first couple of days have gone extremely well. There have been some glitches, some organisational things, these things happen in a large event,” Tharoor told reporters after the launch of his new book on Narayana Guru.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is being held in Delhi from 16 February to 20 February. It is the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. The event has brought together government policymakers, AI industry experts, academicians, technology innovators and civil society members from across the world to discuss the future of artificial intelligence.
Controversies that made headlines at the AI Summit
On the opening day, 17 February, organisers and exhibitors faced several issues such as long queues, overcrowding and logistical problems. Many visitors said some entry gates were shut without proper guidance from security staff. However, the situation improved on 18 and 19 February.
One of the biggest controversies involved Galgotias University from Greater Noida. The university was asked to leave the expo area after facing heavy criticism online for showcasing a robotic dog named “Orion”. During the event, university representatives and a professor were seen claiming that the robot was developed in-house.
There was also buzz after Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, skipped his keynote address. Reports suggested this was linked to controversy around his name being associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
VVIP movement led to traffic snarls
Parts of Lutyens’ Delhi witnessed heavy traffic jams on Thursday, especially during the evening rush hour, as staggered VIP movements linked to the ongoing AI Summit disrupted traffic for several hours. The situation led to anger among commuters and raised fresh concerns about how traffic is managed during high-profile events.
Although the main departure of heads of state from Bharat Mandapam was scheduled between 7 pm and 9 pm, traffic restrictions were put in place much earlier, traffic police officials said.
VIP movements had started earlier in the day, but road closures continued through the afternoon as different heads of state left the venue at different times. This resulted in repeated traffic stoppages instead of one fixed closure window, causing prolonged inconvenience to commuters.