Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday refuted opposition allegations that Mallikarjun Kharge was not given seat "commensurate with his position" swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu and said that he was provided with a seat in the first row.
Joshi said going by the order of precedence, Kharge, who is Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, should be seated in the third row.
"It has been alleged that there was a violation of protocol during the presidential oath-taking ceremony. The ceremony is organised by the Home Ministry. There is an order of precedence. Going by that, the Leader of Opposition should be seated in the third row," he said.
"To respect the position of Mallikarjun Kharge, he was provided with a seat in the first row. When he still complained that it was on the corner, the staff offered to move him to the centre, but he refused," the minister added.
Joshi hit out at Kharge for not attending the farewell function of former President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday.
"On Saturday, for the farewell function, he was duly invited. He had been allotted a seat close to the Prime Minister. But he did not show up. In a way, it was an insult to the outgoing President, the Chairman and the Speaker," he said.
Earlier on Monday, opposition parties submitted a letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu stating that Kharge was "made to sit in a seat not commensurate with the position he holds" at the swearing-in ceremony of President Murmu.
"We are writing to express our shock and protest at this deliberate disrespect shown to a very senior leader violating the warrant of precedence and not in accordance with protocol courtesies due to him," the letter said.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and some party MPs also wrote a similar letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
Other Congress leaders also made allegations against the government.
"It is very sad. The way the central government treated the Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, is not acceptable. You see the protocol. It is clearly devaluing the position of the Leader of Opposition," Congress MP KC Venugopal told ANI.
In the swearing-in ceremony held in the Central Hall of Parliament, Kharge was seen sitting next to Union ministers Narayan Rane and Sarbananda Sonowal.
During the swearing-in ceremony of Ram Nath Kovind in 2017, Kharge, who was also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha at the time, sat next to the Union ministers.Similarly, in 2012 during the oath-taking ceremony of Pranab Mukherjee, the then Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitely sat in the same order.
Murmu is the youngest President of the country, who was born after India's independence. She is also the first tribal leader to be elected to the highest constitutional post of the country and the second woman President of India.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered her the oath at a ceremony held at Parliament's Central Hall in the presence of outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
Members of the Council of Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, heads of diplomatic missions, Members of Parliament and principal civil and military officers of the government were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.
( With inputs from ANI )
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