New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi did attend the iconic Independence Day event at Red Fort on Thursday, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation, but a controversy broke out over his seating arrangement.
Visuals of the Leader of Opposition sitting in the second-last row, behind the Olympic medallists, went viral on social media.
Clad in a white kurta-pyjama, Rahul sat beside the Indian hockey team’s forward Gurjant Singh.
The LoP, whose rank is equivalent to that of a Cabinet Minister, is assigned a seat in the front row as per protocol.
On Thursday, however, the front row was occupied by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Amit Shah and S Jaishankar among others.
The second and third rows were occupied by Olympic medallists Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and members of the bronze-winning hockey team, including captain Harmanpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh.
It was the first time in a decade that an LoP had attended the Red Fort event on Independence Day celebrations, but the obvious question cropped up: why was he assigned a seat so far back?
Government sources told India Today that the Congress MP had to be shifted back as the front rows were allocated to Olympic medal winners.
It’s the Union Ministry of Defence which is responsible for conducting the Independence Day event and making all arrangements, including seating plans.
Congress slams Modi Govt
Congress slammed the Modi government for insulting Rahul.
“It is futile to expect big things from small-minded people. Narendra Modi certainly showed his frustration by making Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sit in the fifth row during the Independence Day celebrations, but this does not make any difference to Rahul Gandhi and he will keep raising issues of the people as he has been doing,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said in a video statement on X.
“However, it shows that you and your government do not have any respect for democracy, democratic traditions and the Leader of Opposition,” she added.
Break in tradition
During Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Prime Ministership, then-LoP Sonia Gandhi was always allocated a seat in the first row.
The post of the LoP has been vacant since 2014 as no Opposition party won sufficient number of Lok Sabha seats – one-tenth of the strength of Lok Sabha.
Having managed to bag just 44 and 52 seats in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, respectively, in the 543-member House, Congress increased its tally to 99 in the recent election.
