Rahul Gandhi invited to Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort

NEW DELHI: Defence secretary RK Singh on Monday said leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on August 15 and will be seated immediately after the Union Cabinet ministers. "Leader of opposition has been invited, and his seating would be as per the Table of Precedence, which is exactly after Cabinet ministers," Singh told news agency ANI.

In 2024, Rahul Gandhi's seating arrangement during the Independence Day celebrations had triggered a row after the Congress criticised the government for giving him a seat in the "fifth row" and calling the move a display of "pettiness" and a disregard for democratic norms. Officials from the ministry of defence, which organises the event, clarified that the 5th row seating arrangement for LoP was necessiated because of adjustment of 4 Olympic medalist in each row along with the ministers after first two rows.

Earlier this year, the Congress had again accused the Centre of violating established protocol and undermining democratic decorum after Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge were seated in the third row during the Republic Day celebrations. However, the defence ministry refuted the charge and stated that the seating arrangements were done as per the "Table of Precedence". According to the Warrant of Precedence issued by the President's secretariat, seating arrangements at state and ceremonial occasions are decided based on constitutional rank and office, and not political affiliation. The Table of Precedence is a protocol list that applies to state and ceremonial occasions, including national events such as Republic Day celebrations, and has no application to the day-to-day functioning of the government. As per this, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha has a rank equivalent to that of a Cabinet minister.