India, Jan. 26 -- Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, attended the Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path on Sunday. However, their seating arrangement has sparked a fresh political controversy.

The Congress alleged that Kharge and Gandhi were placed in the third row in violation of established protocol, accusing the Centre of deliberately undermining the stature of the Opposition.

Party leaders shared archival photographs from 2014 to argue that the leaders of the Opposition were seated more prominently earlier.

Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala criticised the government in a post on X, questioning whether the seating arrangement met "any standards of decorum,...