NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly refusing to wear an Assamese ‘Gamosa’ during the reception hosted by President Draupadi Murmu after Republic Day parade.Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha of “insulting” the people of the entire Northeast and demanded an unconditional apology from him.Taking to X, Sarma said, “Times may change, but the attitude of the de facto supremo of the Congress party, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, regrettably appears unchanged. In an act that was deeply insensitive and insulting to the people of the entire North East, Mr. Gandhi chose not to wear the traditional Patka, a symbol of the region’s rich cultural heritage, at the reception hosted by the Hon’ble President of India this evening.”“From the President and the Prime Minister to foreign dignitaries, everyone wore the Patka with respect and pride. Mr. Gandhi alone stood apart, reinforcing a perception of disregard towards the North East. Such conduct explains why his party has lost the trust of the region and much of the country. Yet, this repeated insensitivity continues. Rahul Gandhi must issue an unconditional apology to the people of the North East for this affront,” he added.This comes after some media reports claimed that all guests except Rahul wore the Gamosa presented to them at the event.BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a post on X, “Shameful! Rahul Gandhi has insulted the north east and also disrespected our very hon’ble President.”Congress hits backMeanwhile, Congress leaders shared a picture of defence minister Rajnath Singh and asked Assam chief minister if he will demand an apology from Singh also for not wearing the patka.“Hey Himanta Biswa Sarma, will you seek an apology from Rajnath ji too? Or your entire strategy to fight anti incumbency is to pick up such non issues?” Khera asked,Congress MP Manickam also slammed the BJP over the issue and termed Biswa “2016 batch of betrayer.”“The 2016 batch of betrayer must stop this nonsense. Why is @rajnathsingh ji not wearing the North east patka then? Stop dragging the Hon’ble President @rashtrapatibhvn into your cheap politics,” Tagore said in a post on X.This comes after he Congress accused the Centre of insulting the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha -Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge – by seating them in the third row during the Republic Day parade event at Kartavya PathSharing pictures of their leaders seated in the back rows during the ceremony, several Congress leaders raised questions over the “protocol mess-up” and propriety.Meanwhile, BJP reacted sharply and accused the grand-old-party of politicising the seating arrangements at the Republic Day and called Gandhi an “insincere politician”.“Shameful of the Congress to politicise even seating arrangements at Republic Day’. Rahul Gandhi is an insincere politician, who chooses politics over national interest,” Bhandari said.
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