President Pranab Mukherjee with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the At Home function
President Pranab Mukherjee today hosted an 'At Home' function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of 67th Independence Day during which he walked past the security barricade to greet the guests.
During the function, Mr Mukherjee met dignitaries including Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Chief Justice of India Palanisamy Sathasivam, Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley and senior BJP leader L K Advani.
Immediately after this, Mr Mukherjee met Cabinet ministers and diplomatic corps in the sprawling Mughal Gardens and then walked past the barricade and mixed with non-VIPs, who greeted him. He then settled in the VVIP enclosure.
Naval Chief Admiral D K Joshi was absent following the submarine tragedy that hit in Mumbai on Wednesday morning. The other two Services chiefs - General Bikram Singh and Air Chief N A K Browne - were seen mixing with the crowd.