Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi Skip Independence Day Event For 2nd Straight Year

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, for the second year in a row, skipped the 80th Independence Day celebrations led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Red Fort.

In 2024, a controversy erupted during the Independence Day celebrations when Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and enjoys the status of a Cabinet minister, sat in the second last row - in a departure from tradition and protocol - for the programme at the Red Fort. 

The Opposition called the allocation of the seat to the Congress MP an insult to the people, even as the Defence Ministry, which organised the event, argued that the arrangement was tweaked to accommodate Olympians on the premises. 

As per protocol, the Leader of Opposition is seated in the front row during ceremonial events. 

The relations between the ruling party and the Opposition deteriorated further during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that ended on Thursday. The session witnessed multiple lows in terms of productivity - with both the Opposition and the ruling party blaming the other for the low productivity in the session that began with students marching on Parliament on July 20, the first day of the session. Twelve bills were passed, with detailed dicussion taking place on only one - the anti-paper leak legislation. 

The Congress, along with Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party, boycotted the customary tea party hosted by Speaker Om Birla after the House was adjourned sine die.