‘Copy, get caught, blame employee’: Omar Abdullah takes jibe at Galgotias University for Chinese RoboDog row

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has taken a swipe at the Galgotias University for showcasing a China-made robot dog as its own invention. While the Galgotias University has apologised, saying that the professor, Neha Singh, who had presented the RoboDog was “ill-informed”about the technical origins of the product, Omar Abdullah appeared to back her, accusing the university of shifting the blame onto the professor for its own mistake.

In a post on X, Omar Abdullah said, “So this is what Galgotias teaches its students by example - copy someone else’s work & claim it as your own. When you get caught you don’t own up & apologise, instead you 6 & 9 to make excuses.”

“When that doesn’t work you throw an employee under the bus & blame them for everything to save your own skin. Thank heavens this wasn’t the education I received,” he further said.

The J&K chief minister was referring to the university statement in which it said that Professor Neha Singh, in her “enthusiasm of being on camera”, gave “factually incorrect information”. The Greater Noida-based university said Neha Singh was not authorised to speak.

Galgotias University said, 'We at Galgotias University wish to apologise profusely for the confusion created at the recent Al Summit. One of our representatives, manning the pavilion, was ill-informed. She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information even though she was not authorised to speak to the press."

As a controversy erupted, Neha Singh was questioned about the huge row and she said, “The controversy happened because things may not have been expressed clearly and the intent may not have been properly understood.”

Terming it as “misinterpretation” of words she used, she said, “Your 6 can be my 9. Main jo kehna chahti hu wo shayad main bahot acche se keh nahi payi samaj ke aabhav ke kaaran ya buzz or shor ke kaaran. Aur aap jo samajhna chahte hain shayad aapne uspe zyada dhairya nahi diya [What I want to say, perhaps I wasn’t able to express very well – either due to a lack of time or because of the noise and commotion around us. And what you wanted to understand, perhaps you did not give it enough patience]”

In another post, Omar Abdullah said, “Your 6 is my 9. I have to remember to use that somewhere 😀”

Meanwhile, Neha Singh's LinkedIn profile now shows that she is ‘Open to Work’.