Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, skipped the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on Saturday for the second consecutive year, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the national ceremony.

Rahul Gandhi had been invited to this year’s Independence Day event, with the Defence Ministry saying his seating would be determined according to the official Table of Precedence. Under the Warrant of Precedence issued by the President’s Secretariat, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition has a rank equivalent to that of a Union Cabinet Minister.

The absence of Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the two senior Congress leaders, came amid a lingering controversy over the Gandhi scion’s seating arrangement at the 2024 Independence Day celebrations.

In 2024, Rahul Gandhi, who had been appointed Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha with Cabinet rank, was seated in the fifth row at the Red Fort. The Congress criticised the arrangement, alleging that the government had insulted the office of the LoP and displayed “pettiness”. The Defence Ministry, however, said the seating arrangement was made to accommodate Olympians attending the ceremony.

Rahul Gandhi and Kharge had also skipped the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort in 2025.

The Congress has repeatedly raised concerns over the treatment of its leaders at national ceremonial events. It had also criticised the seating arrangements at this year’s Republic Day celebrations, alleging that Gandhi and Kharge were seated in the third row.

The Defence Ministry maintained that the seating arrangements at the Republic Day celebrations in 2025 and 2026 were made in accordance with the Table of Precedence.

The Table of Precedence governs seating and protocol at state and ceremonial occasions and is based on constitutional rank and office rather than political affiliation.

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Published By:

Prateek Chakraborty

Published On:

Aug 15, 2026 09:32 IST