New Delhi: The Congress was upset over the alleged politicisation of the Independence Day event at the Red Fort where the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was seated in the fifth row.
The party slammed the Defence Ministry’s (MoD) explanation that the front row was reserved for the Olympic medal winners saying it was a violation of protocol. The Congress was also miffed that LoP in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge too had been given a seat in the fifth row though he did not attend the national day event.
"Why is the Ministry of Defence acting so petty? The LoP Lok Sabha was seated on the fifth row. The LoP is higher than any Cabinet minister. He is next to the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha. The Defence Minister can't allow the MoD to politicise national functions. It was not expected of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh," Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Vivek Tankha told ETV Bharat.
According to All India Congress Committee (AICC) functionary BM Sandeep the seating row goof-up was done as Rahul Gandhi regularly attacked the NDA government and asked tough questions to it.
"Our leader has been targeting the (Narendra) Modi government for the past several years. Now he has become the LoP which has made the attacks sharper. The NDA can't ignore him now as he holds a constitutional post in the House but still his mic is silenced. Ideally, he should have been given a front-row seat at the Independence Day event. It is about our democratic system. When we were in power the BJP leaders were accorded proper seats at such events," Sandeep told ETV Bharat.
Congress leaders also said that Rahul Gandhi’s first 50 days as LoP were full of pro-people action but there was no such report card from PM Modi who used the national day speech to push UCC.
"LoP Rahul Gandhi made nine Parliament speeches, visited nine states to meet victims of various tragedies, addressed five press conferences, and interacted with 25 groups including labourers, farmers, loco pilots and students. Where’s PM Modi’s report card," said Sandeep.
AICC functionary Chandan Yadav slammed the PM for his I-Day speech."The PM said we have had a "communal civil code" till now. This was a gross insult to BR Ambedkar, architect of the Constitution who was the greatest champion of reforms in Hindu personal laws that became a reality by the mid-1950s. These reforms had been bitterly opposed by the RSS and the Jan Sangh. Further, the 21st Law Commission, appointed by the Modi government, said in its Consultation Paper on Reform of Family Law, on August 31, 2018, that a uniform civil code was neither necessary nor desirable at this stage,” Yadav told ETV Bharat.
Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate slammed the Centre saying expecting big things from people who had small minds was a waste of time.
"The PM has only revealed his frustration by making LoP Rahul Gandhi, who has a cabinet rank, sit in the fifth row whereas the ministers were seated in the first row. But our leader is not affected by such petty acts. The Defence Ministry’s explanation is only exposing them. Our leader will still be a people's leader even if he is made to sit in the 50th row," she added.
