Govt refutes Opposition's allegations of not giving appropriate seat to LoP in RS Mallikarjun Kharge
New Delhi, Jul 25: The government on Monday refuted Opposition's allegations of not giving appropriate seat to Mallikarjun Kharge during swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu, saying that the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha was given seat in front row at par with Cabinet ministers.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted a letter written to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, saying that Kharge was made to sit in a seat not commensurate with the position he holds.
The letter further says that it was disrespect to very senior leader and was not in accordance with the protocol courtesies due to him.
Rejecting the allegations, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi said there was no violation of protocol in the oath-taking ceremony of the President.
"In the order of precedence, leader of opposition is after all Cabinet ministers. Strictly going by that his seat comes in third row. But to respect seniority of Kharge ji, he was provided seat in first row itself," Joshi said.
When he objected to his seat as it was in corner, Joshi said staff present there requested him to come to centre but he refused.
Joshi further said in outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind's farewell programme on Saturday, Kharge was given the seat next to the prime minister, but he didn't come.
"It was an insult to the President also. Today they are making an issue of a non-issue. In spite of order of precedence, we tried to accommodate them in first row. Majority of Cabinet ministers sat in second row," Joshi said.
Letter submitted to Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha by all Opposition Parties (including TMC) just now. pic.twitter.com/tapyVKFS1s
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 25, 2022
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
