The Façade of Digital India Crumbles: From Vishwa Guru to a Global Embarrassment as Modi’s AI Summit Exposes the BJP’s Administrative Bankruptcy

The world just witnessed a pathetic display of incompetence in New Delhi that stripped away the fake veneer of “Digital India.” Following a total logistical collapse, the opposition has rightly labeled the event a global embarrassment. This failure highlights a PR-hungry government that promised a high-tech showcase but delivered a chaotic circus. By prioritizing cameras over coordination, the Modi regime proved its “tech superpower” claim is a hollow gimmick used to hide deep administrative rot.

1. A Masterclass in Ministerial Incompetence and Global Shame

The Modi government shamelessly hyped the India–AI Impact Summit 2026, boasting about delegations from 45 countries and 4,000 deployed police. Yet, the moment the summit began, this fake image vanished. The registration systems—the heart of a digital event—crashed repeatedly, leaving international delegates stranded in humiliating three-hour queues. It is a pathetic joke that a regime claiming to lead global AI cannot even manage a basic entry gate.

1.1. The Digital India Irony: No Wi-Fi and Cash-Only Counters

The most stinging irony was the total collapse of connectivity at a digital-themed event. Reports confirmed that the Wi-Fi was non-functional and UPI payment systems failed due to connectivity issues. In a display of pure failure, food stalls were forced to operate on a cash-only basis. When you have over 200,000 online registrations and nearly 70,000 visitors on a single day, the least a government can do is ensure the internet works. Instead, the world saw a regime more interested in posters of the Prime Minister than in ensuring a simple router stays connected.

1.2. Security Chaos and the Theft of Innovation

Mismanagement reached absurdity when security sweeps for the Prime Minister’s arrival disrupted the expo. Founders were blocked from their own stalls, with viral accounts describing participants stranded outside while gates were locked. Even more shocking were allegations of theft; an exhibitor claimed wearable AI devices were stolen after an area was cordoned off for the VVIP visit. This shows the BJP’s priority is not the industry, but the vanity of one man. The fact that Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had to apologize and set up a war room proves the PR machine could not hide the stench of this failure.

2. A Career Built on PR Stunts and Statistical Lies

This disaster is part of a darker pattern of governance. For a decade, the Modi regime has used fake propaganda to hide its inability to manage complex systems. They announce a grand vision, take the credit, and leave the people to deal with the fallout.

2.1. Demonetisation: The Original Economic Fraud

The roots of this incompetence trace back to the 2016 demonetisation shock. The government scrapped 15.4 trillion rupees, which was 86.9 percent of the currency in circulation. They lied, claiming this would wipe out black money. However, the RBI admitted that 15,310.73 billion rupees returned to the banks, meaning 99.3 percent of the notes were deposited. It was a failure that destroyed lives, yet the government framed it as a victory. The AI summit is just the latest chapter in this book of lies.

2.2. The Criminal Negligence of the Pandemic Response

The BJP’s preference for spectacle has had deadly consequences. In 2020, a nationwide lockdown was imposed with only 4 hours of notice, triggering a crisis for 40 million internal migrants. Around 60,000 people were forced to walk hundreds of kilometers because the state failed to provide transportation. In 2021, during the second wave, India reported over 400,000 new cases in a single day on 1 May 2021. While the government managed headlines, people died due to lack of oxygen. The WHO later estimated 4.7 million excess deaths in India between January 2020 and December 2021. This incompetence was on display in Delhi, only this time the victim was India’s international reputation.

3. The Systematic Erosion of Truth and Safety

The BJP’s strategy is simple: fail at the task, then silence critics. While they talk about world-class infrastructure, the reality is a crumbling system. The 2023 Odisha train disaster is a chilling example, where signalling lapses led to more than 293 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. Instead of fixing the railways, the government launches expensive projects that look good in photos but offer no security.

3.1. Crushing Dissent and the Death of Press Freedom

To keep the propaganda running, the regime has launched a war on truth. India has plummeted to rank 151 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index. The government uses internet shutdowns as a weapon, recording at least 116 shutdowns in 2023 and 84 in 2024, the highest for any democracy. When failures become obvious, they cut the digital lifeline. The AI summit chaos was significant because it happened in the capital with the world watching, making it impossible for IT cells to spin the story. Freedom House’s score of 63 out of 100 confirms that under the BJP, the country is only partly free.

4. The Hollow Brand of a Fake Global Leader

The term Vishwa Guru is used by the BJP to suggest India is leading the world. But how can a country lead in AI when it cannot manage a seating plan? How can it claim to be a tech leader when guests pay in cash because the internet is down? The Modi government is a PR agency pretending to be a government. The Delhi AI summit has permanently damaged India’s credibility. For the 600 startups and delegates from over 100 countries, the takeaway was the BJP’s administrative bankruptcy. You cannot hide the fact that the system is broken.

5. The End of the Hype: Why Image Management is No Substitute for Real Governance

The failure in New Delhi is a warning: do not believe the hype from the BJP’s propaganda factory. This government is a master of deception but a novice in governance. The AI summit was supposed to be a showcase, but it ended as a monument to Modi’s incompetence. When the opposition calls this a global embarrassment, they are being honest. The BJP has turned India into a country where digital dreams are high, but reality is grounded in crashed servers and three-hour queues. As long as image management remains the goal, these international humiliations will continue, exposing the hollow reality of the Modi era to the world.