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  Metros   Mumbai  01 Jun 2019  BJP didn’t follow protocol at swearing-in event: NCP

BJP didn’t follow protocol at swearing-in event: NCP

THE ASIAN AGE.
Published : Jun 1, 2019, 2:11 am IST
Updated : Jun 1, 2019, 2:11 am IST

NCP president and former senior minister Pawar should have been treated as per protocol.

Sharad Pawar
 Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has alleged that the BJP-led government did not follow protocol for the swearing-in ceremony.

The NCP chief was given the pass for a fifth-row seat which upset him which is why he did not attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. The party also demanded an explanation from the central government as to why protocol was not followed while inviting Mr Pawar and he was given a seat in the fifth row.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said that 8,000 people were invited to the ceremony and BJP was well within their rights to invite whosoever they wanted. However, NCP president and former senior minister Mr Pawar should have been treated as per protocol.

He said that the BJP government had invited Mukesh Ambani, Adani and Bollywood actors to whom the protocol does not apply. Still, they were given seats in the first row but a senior leader like Mr Pawar, who should have been given a front row seat as per protocol, was ignored. "We demand an explanation from the government as to whether it was done purposely,” the NCP leader said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had ignored their senior leaders while forming the Union cabinet. This government would be run by Mr Modi and Mr Shah only.

Mr Malik said that though Rajnath Singh had been sworn in as number two after Mr Modi, the way the home ministry had been taken away from him showed that it was not a BJP government but a government of Mr Modi and Mr Shah only.

Tags: sharad pawar