Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi skipped the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on Saturday, as a controversy over their seating arrangements continued for a third consecutive year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, where he unfurled the national flag and addressed the nation. The absence of the two senior Congress leaders triggered criticism from the BJP.
The Congress leaders instead attended the Independence Day celebrations at the party headquarters, Indira Bhawan, where the Tricolour was hoisted.
Seating arrangement remains at centre of row
The latest controversy comes against the backdrop of a dispute over Rahul Gandhi's seating at the Red Fort ceremony in 2024. Gandhi, who has Cabinet minister rank as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was seated in the second-last row that year.
The Congress had objected to the arrangement, arguing that the Leader of Opposition should have been seated in the front row. The Defence Ministry had said the seating plan was not intended to single out Gandhi and that front-row places had been allocated to Olympians being felicitated at the event.
This year, sources said the Defence Ministry shared with the Congress details of seating arrangements given to former BJP Leaders of Opposition, including Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, during previous governments.
However, Congress sources said the leaders were not convinced by the explanation and chose not to attend the Red Fort ceremony.
Kharge, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and has Cabinet minister rank, was reportedly assigned a seat in the second or third row. Congress sources said the location was inconvenient for him to reach.
The Congress has maintained that protocol requires the Leader of Opposition to be given a prominent position during major ceremonial occasions.
BJP targets Congress leaders
The BJP criticised Rahul Gandhi and Kharge for their absence from the national Independence Day ceremony.
BJP leader RP Singh questioned the reason cited for Kharge's absence, pointing out that the Congress president regularly climbs the stairs at Makar Dwar in Parliament but did not attend the Red Fort event.
The Congress leadership had also skipped the Red Fort celebrations in 2025, making this the third consecutive year that Rahul Gandhi and Kharge did not attend, according to reports.
The row comes amid continued political friction between the ruling BJP and Congress, with both parties frequently clashing over protocol, parliamentary issues and the conduct of government events.
Despite the controversy, Congress leaders marked Independence Day separately at the party headquarters, while the national ceremony at the Red Fort remained the principal official event.
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