At-home and out of place

Protocol issues dogged the at-home party thrown by the President as part of the Republic Day celebrations. The biggest embarrassment was faced by the three Armed Forces chiefs who were literally left without any seats at the formal event. While protocol dictates that the three service chiefs are seated next to the President on a dais during the function,this year there were no seats for the top military leaders. Instead,they were left standing with the crowd during the entire function. Only when the concluding National Anthem was being played were the chiefs asked to step on the dais and stand with the President. The Armed Forces are still struggling to understand the reason for this exclusion.