L K Advani loses room in Parliament?

New Delhi: BJP patriarch L K Advani seems to have been deprived of a room in Parliament House, which he was occupying for the last 10 years as NDA working chairman and was a confused man today in the Lok Sabha too as he kept guessing where to sit in the absence of seat allotment.

The indication of the former Deputy Prime Minister losing the room no 4 came when his name plate outside it was even though the name plate of NDA Chairman Atal Behari Vajpayee was intact outside the same room. With Vajpayee being away from the scene because of his ill health, Advani used to occupy it.

The absence of Advani's name plate bearing his name and position of working chairman of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was conspicuous as the development took place when the rooms are being allotted afresh after the constitution of the new Lok Sabha.

The 86-year-old party veteran instead chose to take rest in the BJP Parliamentary Party office, which is generally used by ordinary party leaders.

Though he continues to be chairman of BJP Parliamentary Party, Advani did not sit on the main chair in the room and sat on a sofa.

Sources close to him tried to downplay the issue, saying "there is no confusion" and expressed confidence that he will be allotted a room soon.

Lok Sabha Secretariat said it has no role in the allotment of rooms.

Inside the Lok Sabha too, Advani appeared confused as to where to sit.

In the morning, he sat in the front row in the House. When he entered, he wanted to sit in the second row along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who was seen pleading with him to sit in the front row.

Then he sat in the front row besides Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Ram Vilas Paswan and took oath there itself. He, however, did not sit next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi even though the seat was vacant.

In the afternoon when he came after a break, he was looking for a seat and finally sat in the 8th row.