New Delhi: Though denied the status of the Leader of Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge has been alloted the seat normally given to LoP in the Lok Sabha next to that of the deputy speaker in the Opposition benches.
Mr Kharge, who is the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, will share the front row with party President Sonia Gandhi, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda under the arrangement decided by the Speaker who also allotted division numbers to the members.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will be seated in the second row, behind his mother when the House meets from next Monday for the Winter Session of Parliament. Division numbers are alloted to members so that when voting takes place they cast their votes from the alloted seat.
Home minister Rajnath Singh has been given the front row seat next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the treasury benches, along with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and BJP veteran L.K. Advani.
While seat number 5 in the treasury benches has been kept vacant, number 6 has been allotted to surface transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari.
Law minister Sadanand Gowda, BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, ministers Ananth Kumar and Anant Geete, Ashok Gajpati Raju and Ram Vilas Paswan will also occupy front row seat in the treasury benches.
