Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort triggers talk

The seating arrangement at the Independence Day celebrations, where Congress's Rahul Gandhi, in a departure from tradition and protocol, was assigned a seat in the second last row, sparked chatter on social media. It was for the first time in a decade that a Leader of the Opposition was present at Red Fort for the Independence Day celebrations.

Before the morning's ceremony got over, social media started buzzing with indignant protests from Congress's leaders and supporters. The Defence ministry, which was organising the event, issued a clarification, but failed to stem the tide of criticism. 

As per protocol, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, whose rank is equivalent to that of a Cabinet Minister, is always assigned a seat in the front row. Today the front row was occupied by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Amit Shah and S Jaishankar.

According to sources, Rahul Gandhi sat in the fifth row that was allotted to him. He did not make any special demands or requests, they added. Notably, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's seat was also in the fifth row. However, Kharge did not turn up.

With Rahul Gandhi's seating arrangement triggering chatter on social media, sources in the Ministry of Defence said the Congress MP had to be shifted back as the front rows were allocated to the Olympic medal winners. The Ministry of Defence is responsible for conducting the Independence Day event and making the seating plans.

The explanation was shredded by the Congress. "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," posted senior Congress leader KC Venugopal on X, formerly Twitter. "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," Mr Venugopal added. During the BJP regime under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then LoP Sonia Gandhi, was always allocated a seat in the first row, he said.