Third row seats for Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul; Congress says Leaders of Opposition insulted

The Congress on Monday (January 26, 2026) accused the BJP government of insulting the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, by seating them in the third row during the Republic Day parade event at Kartavya Path.

Sharing pictures of their leaders seated in the back rows during the ceremony, several Congress leaders raised questions over the “protocol mess-up” and propriety.

Congress chief Kharge was first seen seated in the third row along with Rahul Gandhi. Later, he was moved to the front row next to former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Sharing the picture of Rahul Gandhi and Mr. Kharge seated in the third row, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said on X, “Does such treatment of the leader of the opposition in the country meet the standards of any decorum, tradition, and protocol?” “This only reveals the frustration of a government plagued by an inferiority complex.

“In a democracy, differences will persist, but this treatment meted out to Shri Rahul Gandhi is unacceptable,” Mr. Surjewala said in his post in Hindi.

Congress leader Vivek Tankha too shared the picture on X, saying, “This is sheer lack of protocol and grace !! May be too much to expect in present times !! #RahulGandhi #Khargeji”.

“The way opposition leaders were treated during the Republic Day celebrations, I don’t expect anything better from the party currently in power in today’s environment. It’s unfortunate that democracy gets hurt over these petty actions of the ruling party,” Mr. Tankha said in another post.

The BJP, however, said the Congress has once again put entitlement and ‘parivar’ above people and asked why Mr. Gandhi had earlier skipped important events like the oath-taking of the Vice President and the Chief Justice of India.

Mr. Gandhi’s seating arrangements during the Republic Day and Independence Day functions have led to controversies in the past also.

In his video message, Mr. Tankha said seeing Mr. Gandhi sitting in the third row, he felt surprised and sad. He said he does not recall similar treatment meted out to Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley when they were Leader of the Opposition.

“Both Kharge ji and Rahul ji have a special place in Indian politics and by making them sit in the back rows is not an insult to them but to the nation. You are insulting the Constitutional institutions,” Mr. Tankha said.

“Expecting respect from the BJP government seems like an impossibility, as these things come if one keeps such institutions in high esteem and has fought the battle for protecting democracy and participated in the freedom movement,” the Rajya Sabha MP noted.

Congress leader and the party’s whip in Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, shared another picture from the past when L K Advani was seated in the front row along with his daughter. Several Union Ministers and Sonia Gandhi were also seen sitting in the same row in the photograph.

“This was in 2014; look at where LK Advani ji was seated then. Why this protocol mess-up now? Is it because Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah want to insult Kharge ji and Rahul ji? “Leaders of the Opposition cannot be insulted like this, especially on Republic Day,” Mr. Tagore said in his post.

Sitting back, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said on X, “Once again Congress puts entitlement and ego, parivar and position above people”.

“They feel Parivar Tantra is above Sanvidhan Tantra. Seating is decided by a set format – Warrant or Table of Precedence. One can see even senior cabinet ministers around or even behind Rahul Gandhi but none of them made it an issue,” Mr. Poonawala said in his post.

“Rahul thinks he is the owner of India? By the way, why does he bunk important programmes? Where was he during the VP Oath? CJI Oath? I-Day programme?” the BJP leader asked.