The Congress party on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of showing "pettiness" and disregard for democratic traditions by making Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sit in the fifth row at the Red Fort's Independence Day celebrations.
The party's criticism came after sources involved in organising the event said the seating arrangements were made according to the table of precedence, as reported by news agency PTI.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate claimed that Prime Minister Modi is a person with a "petty mindset" and he keeps giving proof of that himself.
"It is futile to expect big things from small-minded people. Narendra Modi certainly showed his frustration by making Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sit in the fifth row during the Independence Day celebrations, but this does not make any difference to Rahul Gandhi and he will keep raising issues of the people as he has been doing," she said in a video statement on X.
However, Shrinate added, “This shows that you and your government do not have any respect for democracy, democratic traditions and the Leader of Opposition.” She pointed out that the Leader of Opposition holds a rank equivalent to a cabinet minister, yet ministers were seated in the first row.
"Not only Rahul Gandhi was made to sit in the fifth row but Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's designated place was also in the fifth row," she said.
"A foolish statement has come from the defence ministry that 'this was done as we wanted to honour Olympians'. They should be honoured and so should Vinesh Phogat, but did Amit Shah, J P Nadda, S Jaishankar and Nirmala Sitharaman, not want to honour them?" she said.
Shrinate said that the Leader of the Opposition is important because he makes the government accountable and puts the government in the dock by raising people's issues.
"So these people with a petty mindset do not care about democracy and democratic traditions," she alleged.
The truth is that Modi and his ministers feel uncomfortable with Gandhi as he asks questions of them, she claimed.
"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 said on X.
Gandhi was seen sitting behind a few rows of seats, which were occupied by members of the Indian contingent that took part in the recently-held Paris Games.
For the first time in 10 years, a leader of the opposition was present to take part in the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort.
Due to the Bharatiya Janata Party's sheer majority in the parliament, the post of the leader of the opposition had remained vacant for 10 years.
