New Delhi: The absence of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikrajun Kharge, the leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha respectively, attracted a sharp response from the BJP from the Independence Day incident at Red Fort on Friday, alleging that the main opposition party, the Congress, killed a “new” with “insulting” with its top activists. ,Rahul attended the program last year but was absent this time. Kharge was also absent last year. The Congress leadership made a clear step to make a statement on the issue, but sources said that the party chiefs have chosen themselves to distance themselves from such events because they feel that the governing dispensation discriminates against the opposition members in terms of seating arrangements and protocols.A source said, “Even those holding constitutional positions are not shown proper respect – instead of sitting in the front row, they are placed in the third line.”BJP sources denied the charge as “Langa Alibi”. A source said, “We are following the same protocol that he had kept.” “From opposing a party to insulting the nation – every time you think that the Congress cannot fall ahead, they hit a new low,” the BJP said.The BJP said, “Only a handful of chairs were empty in Red Fort, and there was no point to guess who missed the incident again,” BJP said, “left the official program, posting a media report on X about Rahul and Kharge.The deadlock on seats and protocols is not new and has seen BJP and Congress engaged in the war of words with BJP members, alleging in the past that during the UPA era, its members were not given seats in VIP areas.
