Rahul Gandhi’s seating at Independence Day event stirs controversy
Rahul Gandhi, who enjoys the status of a Cabinet minister, was seated in the fifth row in the VIP area when he came to hear PM Modi’s speech at the Red Fort.
A controversy erupted on Thursday after Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi sat in the last few rows for the Independence Day programme at the Red Fort, with the Opposition calling it an insult to the people, even as the government argued that arrangements were tweaked to accommodate Olympians attending the event.
Gandhi, who enjoys the status of a Cabinet minister, was seated in the fifth or penultimate row in the VIP area when he came to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the Red Fort.
This is the first Independence Day programme since Modi came to power in 2014 that the Lok Sabha has a designated LoP. As per protocol, Gandhi was to be given a seat in the front row, along with senior ministers.
Officials involved in the arrangement of seats suggested – on condition of anonymity – that some prominent VIP seats had to be given to Olympians who were attending the event. They did not, however, specify which other VIPs were asked to sit in the back rows.
Officials in the defence ministry, which is in charge of the arrangements, said front row seats were allocated to Olympics medal winners and thus, the LoP was given a seat in the last few rows.
The Congress lashed out at the Union government, calling it an insult to the people whose voice Gandhi represented in Parliament.
“Modi ji, it’s about time you wake up to the new reality post-June 4th. The arrogance with which you relegated Lok Sabha LoP @RahulGandhi ji to the last rows during the Independence Day ceremony shows that you have not learned your lesson,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said on X. This year, the Paris Olympics medal winners were honoured as special guests at the Independence Day celebrations, the officials cited above said. Gandhi sat behind shooter Manu Bhaker who won two bronze medals and Sarabjot Singh, another bronze medallist, and the hockey players who won bronze.
The Congress said the government had kept a back row seat for Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge but the latter didn’t attend the programme. “The defence ministry‘s feeble explanation that it was out of respect for Olympians doesn’t cut much ice. While Olympians deserve every bit of respect, I wonder how cabinet ministers like Amit Shah or Nirmala Sitharaman ji get front row seats ahead of them,” Venugopal said.
Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister S Jaishankar sat in the front row seats. Some other senior ministers sat in the second and third rows. “As per protocol, the LoPs of both Houses must also be seated in the front row, but the seats for Rahul ji and INC President Shri Mallikarjun @kharge ji were in the 5th row. This was not only an insult to the post of LoP or Rahul ji; it was an insult to the people of India, whose voice Rahul ji represents in Parliament,” Venugopal said.
A senior Opposition leader, who was a minister in the UPA era, said that it is unheard of that the LoP was allotted a seat in the last few rows. “The LoP enjoys the same status and perks as a cabinet minister. In the past, such an arrangement was never made whereby the LoP would be relegated to a seat far away from the ministers and in the second last row,” the leader said.
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