.
NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi attended Republic Day parade and ‘At Home’ reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan but the party’s criticism of govt for not offering them front row seats in the parade triggered a row, with BJP accusing it of carrying a sense of entitlement. Congress, however, accused BJP of “petty politicking”.Party MP Vivek Tankha said, “I was shocked. Opposition used to be treated with respect. BJP leaders of opposition were never treated in this manner. By seating Kharge and Rahul in the back, you are insulting the Constitution. But it is too much to expect grace and respect for opposition from BJP govt. It would be part of a party’s behaviour only if it has fought for freedom of the country and for the Constitution.”This is not the first time that seating arrangement at the parade has triggered a controversy. In 2018, Congress objected to seating of Rahul claiming he was given a seat in one of the fourth to sixth row instead of the front row as he was chief of a party. In 2024 I-Day celebrations at Red Fort, controversy again erupted after Rahul was seated in the second-last row with Olympic medalists.Hitting back at Tankha, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Congress and Rahul suffer from a sense of entitlement and they believe VVIP treatment for them is more important than the country. Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal was sitting behind Rahul, he added.”Seating arrangement is decided by a set format, which goes by order of precedence,” he said. He noted Rahul often skipped important official events, I-Day and swearing-in ceremonies of vice president and CJI.BJP recalled their own LoPs Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley used to be given back row seats when Congress-led UPA was in office. At R-Day function in 2009, a veteran politician like L K Advani was seated in the back row, one of them recalled. Poonawalla accused Rahul of insulting North-East by allegedly refusing to wear a ‘patka’ offered by President Murmu to guests at the ‘At Home’ reception. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “From the President and the PM to foreign dignitaries, everyone wore the ‘patka’ with respect and pride. Gandhi alone stood apart, reinforcing a perception of disregard towards North-East…” Sarma demanded an apology from Rahul.
