New Delhi: While the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for Delhi polls, Kiran Bedi, was seated in the front row at the 66th Republic Day parade, former chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal complained that he was not invited for the celebrations.

The peeved AAP acc-used the BJP-led Union government of playing politics and questioned why its leader was not invited to the R-Day celebrations.

On seeing Ms Bedi seated in the front row of the enclosure, designated for parliamentarians during the parade, AAP members cried foul with its leader Ashutosh tweeting, “Kiran Bedi is invited/given front row. Arvind was not even extended invitation for Republic Day parade. Politics even this pious day? Shame.”

It is notable that Mr Kejriwal and his Cabinet ministers had staged a sit-in near Railway Bhavan ahead of January 26 last year over the issue of women’s safety in the city.

The protest site they chose was near Rajpath, where the Republic Day celebrations are held.

“If protocol says it should be sent, then they should have sent it to me. If not, then they shouldn’t. There shouldn’t be any politics over it,” Mr Kejriwal had said on Saturday.

AAP spokesperson Nagender Sharma too came to support his party’s supremo.

“The government’s move to seat BJP CM candidate in VIP enclosure for R-Day parade and telecast her images on TV violates EC’s model code of conduct,” he tweeted.

Earlier too, Mr Kejriwal had said that he was disappointed for not receiving an invite to attend the R-Day celebrations. “I want to attend the Republic Day celebrations, don’t know why I wasn't invited,” the AAP leader had tweeted on Saturday.

“The Prime Minister should have invited Arvind Kejriwal as a former chief minister to the Republic Day celebrations,” AAP leader Kumar Vishwas said.

Reacting to the AAP allegation, Ms Bedi, mocked Mr Kejriwal for “playing sob sob” over not being invited on the occasion.

“I think he is playing sob sob. I think he must grow up. Invitations come not when you desire. They come by something else but they are never demanded, they come by rules and regulations, by protocols whatever it is,” Ms Bedi told a news channel.