Rashtrapati Bhawan clears its stake on Sharad Pawar seating controversy at PM oath ceremony on
The Rashtrapati Bhawan, on Thursday, gave a clarification on the controversy surrounding the seating arrangement at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath-taking ceremony.
At the May 30 ceremony, senior politician and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar was reportedly slated to sit in the fifth row -- much to the chagrin of the party.
Sharad Pawar reportedly refused to attend the ceremony.
To this end, Ashok Malik, Press Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind, took to Twitter to state that Pawar's seat was designated in the first row of the 'VVIP' section and not fifth of the VIP's. He also said that Pawar's party members might have confused V for VIP with Roman numeral 5 (V).
"At the swearing-in ceremony on May 30, Mr Sharad Pawar was invited to the "V section", where the most senior guests sat. Even within "V", he had a labelled first row seat. Somebody in his office may have confused V (for VVIP) for the Roman V (five)," Malik said in a tweet.
Ashok Malik explained the Rashtrapati Bhawan's stake in another tweet. He provided clarification in response to "inaccurate reports" and "media queries" received by his office on the issue.
PM Modi and his Council of Ministers were sworn in on May 30 at a grand ceremony organised in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. It was attended by several leaders from across the country, businessmen, media professionals, Bollywood celebrities and many more prominent personalities of India.
