On August 15, 2024, Rahul Gandhi attended the Independence Day ceremony at the Red Fort as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. He sat behind the Olympic hockey team. Business Today described his seat as being in the second-last row. The Congress said he had been put in the fifth row and called it a sign of pettiness.
According to unnamed sources, the Defence Ministry had given the front rows to Olympic medalists. Business Today noted that the rank of the Leader of the Opposition is equivalent to that of a Cabinet minister.