'Copied UPA schemes, now even technology is copy-paste': Siddaramaiah on Robodog row at AI summit

The Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised the Modi government and said the incident has brought "international embarrassement" for the country. Following the controversy, the University was asked to vacate the Expo.

Amid the Galgotias University’s Robodog controversy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP government, accusing them of ‘copy-paste’. In a post on X on Wednesday, he said, “First, they copied UPA Schemes and Congress guarantees and rebranded them as their own grand vision. Now, even technology is copy-paste.”

Criticising the Centre, the Karnataka chief minister wrote that the Modi government does not believe in ‘Make in India,’ instead, “they believe in 'Fake in India'.’’

He said that the incident has brought “international embarrassment” to the country on such a prominent platform as the AI Impact Summit.

Siddaramaiah alleged that the private institution is BJP-linked, and wrote, “At the AI Impact Summit, a BJP-linked institution passed off a Chinese robot as 'Indian innovation’. Chinese media quickly exposed it - turning the spectacle into an international embarrassment.” He further said, “As the leader, so the follower.”

The Karnataka CM said that because of this incident, India’s reputation has suffered, and said, “That is the real shame.”

What is the Robodog Controversy?

At the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Galgotias University presented a robodog, named “Orion,” allegedly as their own innovation. The backlash began after a video went viral on social media, with many people pointing out that the machine closely resembles the Go2 model produced by Unitree, which is available to purchase for around Rs 2–3 lakh.

Following the criticism, the University posted on X and clarified that they never claimed to have built the robotic dog. It said the device had been procured from the Chinese firm and was being used as an instructional tool to help students explore robotics and artificial intelligence.

However, an X Community Note attached to the post claimed the university’s assertion was misleading, stating that the institution had indeed presented the robot as its own by naming it “Orion” and referring to it as developed by its team during the summit.

Later, the controversy fuelled up even more after a video of a woman went viral, in which she introduced the machine as part of the university’s Centre of Excellence, explained the robot’s features, and claimed that “Orion” had been developed internally.

With the continuous backlash, Galgotias University released an official statement addressing the controversy regarding their 'robodog'.  The representatives were subsequently asked to vacate the expo.