Rahul Gandhi sits in sixth row at Delhi’s Rajpath, Party Says its”deliberate humiliation”
NEW DELHI :Congress president Rahul Gandhi watched the Republic Day parade today today, a day after the party complained that its leader was relegated to a seat in the fourth row. Gandhi was seen sitting in the sixth row at Delhi’s Rajpath, seated closer to the public than to union ministers and senior BJP leaders.
The Congress, furious, has alleged breach of protocol and “deliberate humiliation” of Rahul Gandhi, who took over as party president last month, that too in front of world leaders.
Congress leaders had on Thursday said that the party president had always been seated in the front row since Independence. The party had complained about the seating arrangement stating that the Narendra Modi government was resorting to “cheap politics”.
“We have come to know that the Congress president has been assigned a seat in the fourth row, unlike in past when they used to occupy a seat in the front row during the Republic Day parade,” said a senior Congress leader.
The Congress leader had claimed that the move is aimed at “humiliating” the Congress leadership at the public function which will be attended by Head of Governments/States of all the 10 ASEAN countries.
Traditionally the Congress President would be given a seat in the front row as was the case till last year. Former party president Sonia Gandhi has also been given a seat in the front row always.Sources in the Congress say it is the first time since independence that the party’s chief has not been assigned a seat in the front row.
The 47-year-old was seen in the sixth row with Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. His security men crowded next to him. Amit Shah, the president of the ruling BJP, was seen in the front row with senior leader LK Advani.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala posted what he called a telling image of “petty politics” by the government. “The arrogant rulers deliberately seated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the fourth row, then sixth row, on Republic Day, discarding all convention. For us celebrating the Republic is above all,” he tweeted.
The Congress also alleges that the BJP-led government ensured that no visiting foreign dignitary met opposition parties, a convention followed for years.
In 2012, when the Congress was in power at the centre, the BJP had threatened to boycott functions at the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan because its leaders were not seated at the main table with the President during an At Home that he hosted.
( With Agency Inputs ).
