Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi with the Paris Olympics 2024 medal winning contingent and others during the 78th Independence Day celebration at the Red Fort, in New Delhi, Thursday.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Making Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sit in the fifth row at the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort on Thursday triggered a row, with the Congress accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of showing “pettiness”.
Rahul, wearing a traditional white kurta, was seated in the fifth row along with Olympic medal winners while senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar and Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and some sports persons were seated in the front row.
Official sources said all seating arrangements were done by the Ministry of Defence, which organises the event, as per the table of precedence and it was decided this year that Paris Olympics medal winners would be honoured as special guests at the Independence Day celebrations.
The Leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha are in the seventh position along with Cabinet Ministers in the Table of Precedence.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal claimed that the arrogance with which Rahul was "relegated" to fifth row shows that Modi has not learned his lesson from the Lok Sabha results and it is time to wake up to the "new reality".
"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," he said.
He said earmarking seats for Rahul and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also Congress president, was "not only an insult to the post of LoP" but an "insult" to the people of India. Kharge did not attend.
“It’s amazing how uncomfortable the truth can make some people -- so much so that they’d rather rearrange the seating than face it,” he said on 'X'.
Congress Social Media and Digital Platforms Chairperson Supriya Shrinate hit out at the government over the issue, claiming that Modi was giving proof that he remains a “petty minded” person.
She said a “foolish statement” has come from the Ministry of Defence that “this was done as we wanted to honour Olympians”.
“They should be honoured and so should Vinesh Phogat, but did Shah, Nadda, Jaishankar and Nirmala Sitharaman (who sat in front row) not want to honour them?” she asked.
“It is futile to expect big things from small-minded people. Modi certainly showed his frustration...but this does not make any difference to Rahul-ji and he will keep raising people’s issues. However, it shows that Modi and his government do not have any respect for democracy, democratic traditions and the Leader of Opposition,” she said.
Shrinate claimed that Modi and his ministers feel uncomfortable with Rahul as he questions them.
“Whether Rahul Gandhi sits in the fifth row or the fiftieth, he will remain a people's leader - but when will you people stop doing such dirty acts?” she asked.
Congress Lok Sabha Whip Manickam Tagore posted on ‘X’, “...Opposition leaders like Advani ji and Swaraj ji were shown due respect in the past until 2014. Why is Modiji stooping so low, (Defence Minister) Rajnath Singh-ji?"
Congress leader Vivek Tankha said on ‘X’, “Why is MOD acting so petty...Rajnath Singh-ji, you can’t allow MOD to politicise national functions. Not expected from you Rajnath-ji.”