New Delhi [India]July 25 (ANI): As Draupadi Murmu took oath as the President of India on Monday, the Center and opposition parties created a ruckus in the Central Hall of Parliament over the seating arrangement of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. During the swearing-in ceremony.
All opposition parties submitted a letter to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha stating that the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, was made to sit on a seat “not commensurate with his position” at the swearing-in ceremony of President Murmu.
In a letter to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the opposition said, “Today, at the swearing-in ceremony of the President, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, was made to sit on a seat not commensurate with his position. He holds.”
“We are writing to a very senior leader to express our shock and protest at this deliberate insult shown to violate the warrant of precedence and not due to him in accordance with protocol etiquette,” the letter said.
Kharge was seen sitting next to Union ministers Narayan Rane and Sarbananda Sonowal at the swearing-in ceremony.
The Centre, on the other hand, refuted the allegations of the opposition and said that the setting was arranged according to the order of preference.
“It has been alleged that the protocol was violated during the swearing-in ceremony of the President. The function is organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs. There is an order of preference. According to that, the Leader of the Opposition should be seated in the third row,” said Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
“To honor the position of Mallikarjun Kharge, he was provided a seat in the first row. When he complained that it was in the corner, the staff offered to take him to the center, but he declined. He was duly invited to the farewell ceremony on Saturday. He was allotted a seat close to the Prime Minister. But he didn’t show up. In a way, it was an insult to the outgoing President, the Chairman and the Speaker.
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, during the swearing-in ceremony of Pranab Mukherjee in 2012, the then Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley sat in this sequence.
Murmu is the youngest President of the country, who was born after the independence of India. She is also the first tribal leader to be elected to the country’s highest constitutional post and the second woman President of India.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oath to him on Monday at a ceremony held in the Central Hall of Parliament in the presence of outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Members of the Council of Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Members of Parliament and prominent civil and military officials of the government were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.
Murmu, 64, defeated opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha to become the first tribal and the second woman to hold the top constitutional post.
President Murmu also received a ceremonial salute in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan after taking oath as the 15th President of India. (ANI)
This report is automatically generated from ANI news service. ThePrint assumes no responsibility for its contents.