Game of thrones? BJP responds to row over Rahul Gandhi's seat for R-Day parade

On Friday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi attended the annual Republic Day parade and his seat was allotted in the sixth row.

NEW DELHI: BJP on Friday hit back at Congress' allegations of 'cheap politics' over seat allotted to Rahul Gandhi for the Republic Day parade at Rajpath. The party said its chiefs were not even offered seats in the VIP area when Congress was in power at the Centre.

On Friday, Congress president Gandhi attended the annual Republic Day parade and was reportedly allotted a seat in the fourth row and then apparently shifted to the sixth row. This move made Congress furious, with several party members accusing BJP of 'cheap politics'.

"The arrogant rulers deliberately seated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the fourth row, then sixth row, on Republic Day, discarding all convention. For us celebrating the Republic is above all," Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala tweeted in Hindi.

मोदी सरकार की ओछी राजनीति जग ज़ाहिर!

कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री राहुल गांधी को गणतंत्र दिवस के राष्ट्रीय पर्व पर अंहकारी शासकों ने सारी परंपराओं को दरकिनार करके पहले चौथी पंक्ति और फिर छठी पंक्ति में जानबूझकर बिठाया।

हमारे लिये संविधान का उत्सव ही सर्व प्रथम है। pic.twitter.com/8bRi017G8J — Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) January 26, 2018

The Congress president was seen sitting in the sixth row accompanied by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad. While Sonia Gandhi was allotted a front row seat for the last three years, BJP did not maintain this in the case of Rahul.

"Where did Rajnath Singh ji and Nitin Gadkari ji sit as BJP chiefs at Republic Day events during the Congress-led UPA government," BJP national spokesperson Anil Baluni said.

"But unlike the Congress, the BJP does not stoop so low and believes in a healthy democracy," Baluni added.

Rahul, however, reportedly said that he is 'not bothered' about where he is sitting. Media reports suggest Rahul was initially sitting in the fourth row. But later, he was shifted to the sixth row.