Independence Day 2023: Kharge's absence at Red Fort sparks political exchange, he says, ''Security was so tight...'

livemint.com:

77th Independence Day event at the Red Fort, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge was noticeably absent while Prime Minister Modi addressed the nation. The seat reserved for Mallikarjun Kharge, with his name prominently displayed, remained unoccupied. From the vantage point of the Red Fort's ramparts, PM Modi took the opportunity to criticize Congress's practices of corruption and ‘Pariwarvaad’ (dynasty politics).

Explaining the reason why he did not attend the Independence Day event at Red Fort, the Congress president said that the security is so tight that they don't let anyone else leave before the PM leaves. Speaking to reporters, Kharge said, “ The security is so tight that they don't let anyone else leave before the PM leaves...I thought that I will not be able to reach here on time...I thought it better to not go there to the security situation and lack of time." Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday took a jibe at the BJP-led central government and said that some people make it look like the country developed in the past few years. But that is not true.

It is to be further noted that the Congress president delivered a video message wherein, without explicitly mentioning PM Modi, Kharge remarked that certain individuals hold the belief that India's progress has occurred solely in recent years. He asserted, “But that perspective is misguided." Also Read: Independence Day 2023: ‘India will become one of world's top 3 economies in next 5 years', PM Modi at Red Fort "Some people make it look like the country developed in the past few years. But that is not true.