Promotions surrounding Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates‘ participation in the ongoing India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi appear to have been scrubbed from the event’s official website. The perceived drastic reversal came to light as top US government officials, including the country’s presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and other famed personalities were name-dropped in the controversial Epstein Files released by the US Justice Department.

Bill Gates was among the multiple prominent US tech moguls to have been contentiously linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein over his past ties and meetings with the pedophile. (Read about it here: Epstein scandal: ‘Calling for Bill Gates to testify,’ US Rep seeks subpoena as billionaire breaks silence)

Bill Gates’ name missing from India AI Impact Summit 2026?

A ‘Visionaries on the Global Stage’ section on the Impact.IndiaAI.Gov.In website allows interested readers to search key attendees expected to appear at the summit in Delhi, slated from February 16 to 20, 2026. However, a simple search of Bill Gates’ name gave way to a “No speakers found matching your criteria” prompt on Tuesday, February 15, despite his profile being displayed earlier.

While his name has gone missing from the official website’s “key attendees” section, an official word offering an update on the change of events is still awaited.

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The development also surprisingly surfaced a day after Gates’ warm reception by the Andhra Pradesh government in Amaravathi.

This, in turn, met with heavy criticism on the Internet over his multiple references in years-old emails published on the US Department of Justice’s ‘Epstein Library.’ The backlash especially grew louder after the DOJ’s January 30 update, which unloaded over 3 million pages in addition to the previously revealed trove of documents in different phases.

Govt sources vs Gates Foundation spokesperson: Is Bill attending AI Summit?

Shortly after the disappearance of Gates’ name became a buzzworthy point of discussion on the Internet, NDTV published a report citing government sources on the issue. As per the new article posted February 17, sources said that the government had “reviewed” his summit invitation in light of the Microsoft co-founder’s name being listed in the Epstein Files.

The purported decision may have been fuelled by the Indian government’s wish to “stand with the survivors” of the Epstein scandal, as per NDTV.

In a subsequently pushed report by News18, the Indian channel’s reporter relayed the Gates Foundation spokesperson’s message, suggesting otherwise. As far as the new report goes, Gates’ team firmly claimed that the US tech mogul will be attending the summit and delivering his keynote, as previously scheduled for the 19th. ANI has since also confirmed the same statement about Gates attending the event as scheduled.

When asked why Gates’ name had been scrubbed for the summit website, the Gates Foundation spokesperson reportedly told News18 that the issue was out of their hands.

Rejecting other claims, the Foundation’s spokesperson briefly stated, “Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, is attending the India AI Impact Summit. He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled.”

Indian MP Priyanka Chaturvedi vs Bill Gates

Shiv Sena Party member Priyanka Chaturvedi had previously called out the Ministry of Electronics & IT on social media for extending an invitation to Bill Gates despite the Epstein scandal. “Platforming and Promoting this Epstein Island abuser?” she wrote on her official X account. “Is minister @AshwiniVaishnaw ji meeting him as well? Shameful!”

Following the February 14 post, she took to her account days later to update another one of her posts, highlighting that the AI Summit landing page linked to Gates’ profile had been removed after “my protest.” At the same time, she spoke out against the Andhra Pradesh govt, referencing pictures of the Microsoft co-founder’s state visit.

“It is indeed sad to see these images from Andhra Pradesh. Expected better from a young leader like you Lokesh ji,” she said online. “Normalising sexual abusers & by separating their crimes from their work is not what we expect from younger lot of leaders.”

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Alluding to the tech leader’s ex-wife Melinda Gates’ reaction to Bill’s speculated ties with Epstein, Chaturvedi added, “Let India not be the platform to whitewash their wrongdoings. Maybe Nara Lokesh ji should have heard Melinda Gates’ reasons for divorce and what has emerged from DoJ emails.”

Just hours ago, she again took to her X account to applaud the Ministry of Electronics & IT for removing Bill Gates’ name as a “key attendee” listed on the AI Impact Summit website. Several others joined to praise Chaturvedi, including Member of Parliament Saket Gokhale, for her effort to bring the issue to light.

In yet another X post, MP Priyanka tweeted, “If India has to lead the AI and tech space it will also have to lead the way in Ethical leadership. I had raised my concern with regards to the presence of Bill Gates being promoted as global visionary and platform of AI Summit given to him.”

“I had vociferously spoken about this and am happy that @GoI_MeitY after the rap on the knuckle has ensured he isn’t part of the summit. Let the message be clear, there can be no compromise on what India is building and it has to be led with that moral conviction and dignity. Hope @maha_governor also doesn’t give him the platform he seeks.”