Shrinate said the rank of the Leader of Opposition was that of a Cabinet minister and the ministers of the government were sitting 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, JP Nadda, S Jaishankar and Nirmala Sitharaman not want to honour them?” she asked.The Leader of Opposition is important because he makes the government accountable and puts it in the dock by raising people’s issues, Shrinate said.”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.Congress leader Vivek Tankha said in a post on X, “Why is MoD (Ministry of Defence) acting so petty!! Rahul Gandhi, the LoP Lok Sabha, seated on 4th row. LoP is higher than any Cabinet minister. He is next to prime minister in Lok Sabha.””Rajnath Singh ji , you can’t allow MoD to politicise national functions!! Not expected from you Rajnath ji,” he added.Gandhi was seen sitting behind a few rows of seats, which were occupied by members of the Indian contingent, which took part in the recently-held Olympic Games in Paris, at the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort.
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