New Delhi, February 19 The BJP on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "visionary leadership" for the "successful" conduct of the AI Impact Summit and criticized the Congress for its criticism, saying those lacking fundamental intelligence cannot acknowledge such a "glorious achievement".
BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that India appears to be emerging as a key driving force in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, with representatives of more than 100 countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron and other global leaders, attending the summit alongside heads of the world’s top tech companies.
"India is the number one country in digital transactions, and it is now playing a leading role in the AI Summit. This has been possible due to the visionary and able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Rajya Sabha MP told reporters.
Trivedi said that those in the technology sector are very excited about the development, and the people of the country are also feeling "very proud" with the "successful" conduct of the AI Impact Summit.
"This is an exciting, joyful, and proud moment for every Indian... But, the Congress and the opposition parties have not made even a single statement of appreciation. Forget about appreciation, they haven't even made a positive statement," he said.
"The country's progress in the tech sector should be kept out of politics. But, they are constantly displaying their jealousy and frustration with Prime Minister Modi. It's very sad and unfortunate," Trivedi added.
Making a pitch for democratizing AI, Prime Minister Modi on Thursday unveiled the 'MANAV' vision for a human-centric approach and the use of the fast emerging technology with a strong accent on sovereignty and inclusivity.
Inaugurating the AI Impact Summit, the prime minister said that India believes that artificial intelligence will truly serve the good of the world when it is shared and its codes are open, asserting that the country does not fear AI but sees a fortune in it and a blueprint of tomorrow.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at the prime minister for the 'MANAV' acronym and said "there is no treatment for this (A)cronym (I)nfection".
On Wednesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had dubbed the summit a "disorganized PR spectacle" and alleged that the display of Chinese products at the event was "truly embarrassing" for India.
Hitting back at the Congress, Trivedi said the opposition party could have at least appreciated India's tech sector.
"India is emerging as a new nation, and the Congress party is submerged in perpetual frustration," the BJP leader said.
"Only those people who are lacking a fundamental intelligence are not able to see this glorious achievement of India. Those with distorted intellect can't see this amazing AI Summit," Trivedi said while targeting the Congress.
"Those who used to say that India does not have the capability to adopt new technology should accept their mistake in the face of the grand success of this AI Summit," he added.
Another BJP spokesperson, Pradeep Bhandari, alleged that the Congress cannot see India’s progress because it sees through "anti-national lenses".