A fresh political controversy erupted on Independence Day 2025 after Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi chose not to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ceremonial address at the Red Fort. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticised Gandhi’s absence, calling it an insult to the Indian Army, the Constitution and the theme of Operation Sindoor, which was highlighted during this year’s celebrations.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla led the charge and stated that “this is not a party event or a birthday celebration, but the national day of the country.” He went on to accuse Rahul Gandhi of consistently “going against the Indian state”, calling the Congress party “Islamabad National Congress or Italian National Congress” for allegedly aligning its views with adversarial narratives rather than national interests.

Poonawalla further claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s refusal to attend the Red Fort event amounted to “disrespecting the Army and the martyrs” who were honoured as part of Operation Sindoor. “Going against the Army has become common for Congress. The Leader of the Opposition has always spoken the language of our enemies,” he alleged, adding that even the Supreme Court had remarked in the past that Rahul Gandhi “does not speak like an Indian.”

In response, the Congress released photos and videos showing Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge unfurling the national flag at the party’s headquarters—Indira Bhawan—in New Delhi. The flag-hoisting ceremony took place despite heavy rainfall and was attended by senior party functionaries and workers from across the capital. In a statement, the Congress said, “Today, we remember all the freedom fighters whose sacrifices brought us this independence. It is our duty to protect it.”

This is not the first time the Congress has skipped a national event hosted by the government. The party had earlier stayed away from the inauguration of the new Parliament building and the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony, arguing that these events were politicised by the ruling party.

The BJP, however, maintained that the Red Fort ceremony is purely national and ceremonial in nature and should not have been boycotted. The ruling party has also accused the Congress of adopting a “negative stance” towards Operation Sindoor, after Rahul Gandhi questioned the number of Pakistani jets shot down during the operation and raised doubts over whether the ceasefire was influenced by the United States.

The episode has added another layer to the ongoing political confrontation between India’s two largest parties, with BJP positioning Rahul Gandhi’s absence as “anti-national” and Congress framing its decision as a stand against the politicisation of national institutions.

While Independence Day was marked across the country with patriotic enthusiasm, the dispute over who attended and who didn’t has once again highlighted the deep political polarisation in India’s public discourse.

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