MEERUT, India — Prime Minister Narendra Modi tore into the Congress party on Sunday over a bizarre protest at the world’s largest AI conference hosted by India. Congress leaders stripped to their waists in front of international delegates, Modi said, dragging the nation’s reputation through the mud.

“The country already knows you’re exposed,” Modi told the crowd in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. “Why the need to remove your clothes?” He described the stunt as proof of Congress’s ideological bankruptcy, the oldest party’s desperate grab for attention.

No leaders from allies like Trinamool Congress, DMK or BSP took part, Modi noted. Only “reckless and uncontrolled” Congress figures, he charged, aimed to tarnish India’s image. Those dreaming of the prime minister’s chair, he added, must first capture public trust.

Modi drew a village wedding analogy. Locals there bend over backward to impress guests. Congress, by contrast, trashes the host country on the world stage. The AI summit wasn’t a BJP affair, he stressed—no BJP figures were even present during the incident. Yet Congress hates him enough to sabotage a national showcase, according to Modi.

People nationwide now condemn the behavior, he said. Congress leaders defend it instead of showing shame. This fits their pattern: disrupting Parliament, silencing even allies. Opposition partners suffer the fallout, Modi claimed.

He pressed media outlets to single out Congress in headlines, not lump them with the full opposition. Other parties bear the blame unfairly.

Modi called on Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party to ditch divisive tactics for development-focused rivalry. BJP stays laser-focused on progress. Metro lines, once confined to five cities pre-2014, now span over 25.

Earlier Sunday, Modi launched the Meerut Metro and Namo Bharat rapid rail. He rode with schoolchildren and doctors, chatting with riders. He revealed projects worth 12,930 crore rupees ($1.54 billion).

Past Congress regimes lost infrastructure to graft and foot-dragging, Modi alleged. Metro tech came from abroad. His government fights corruption, pushes self-reliance. Meerut and western Uttar Pradesh gain life-changing links.

Namo Bharat rapid rail zips 82.15 kilometers from Meerut’s Modipuram to New Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan in 55 minutes. It hits 13 stations—two underground, 11 elevated. Meerut Metro links Begumpul to Meerut South via seven stations. Both services share one station and track for smooth commutes.

The AI summit protest drew Modi’s ire amid election-season volleys. Congress has not commented publicly on his remarks as of Sunday evening.