Rahul Gandhi Seating Row: NCP (SP) Sharad Pawar Says ‘Centre Did Not Honour LoP’s Post’ After Congress Leader Denied Front Row Seat During Independence Day Celebrations at Red Fort
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday hit out at the Centre, saying it did not honour the post of the Leader of Opposition by allotting Rahul Gandhi a seat in the last rows at the Independence Day event.
Mumbai, August 16: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday hit out at the Centre, saying it did not honour the post of the Leader of Opposition by allotting Rahul Gandhi a seat in the last rows at the Independence Day event. Addressing party workers of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Pawar said the threat to the Constitution is still not over even if the BJP did not get a majority in the Lok Sabha polls.
Pawar alleged that the prime minister (Narendra Modi) does not honour Parliament and claimed he did not come to the House even for a day during the Budget session. The NCP (SP) chief said those in power care less about the parliamentary procedures. “The Centre did not honour the post of Leader of Opposition. The leader of the opposition was made to sit in the last rows,” he said. Rahul Gandhi Seating Row: Congress Says 'PM Modi Has a Small Heart' After LoP Given Seat in Back Rows Despite Cabinet Rank During Independence Day Celebrations (Watch Video).
The prime minister is an institution, so is the leader of the opposition (LoP). The prestige of the PM's post has to be maintained. Similarly, the prestige of the post of LoP is equally important, Pawar stressed. “It cannot be expected that (Mallikarjun) Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, or Rahul Gandhi's prestige will be respected because those in power do not believe in democratic institutions," Pawar said. Rahul Gandhi Seating Row: ‘It Doesn’t Matter… He Holds a Special Place in Every Indian’s Heart,’ Says Pawan Khera on Allotment of 5th Seat in 5th Row to LoP During Independence Day Celebrations at Red Fort.
The Congress on Thursday said making Gandhi “sit in the fifth row” at the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “pettiness” and lack of respect for democratic traditions. Pawar said that when he was the LoP during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure, his seating arrangement at the I-Day event was alongside the cabinet ministers. He recalled that when Manmohan Singh was the PM, the then LoP Sushma Swaraj was given a seat allotted to cabinet ranks.