Mukherjee hosts 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, he met dignitaries in the VVIP enclosure where he was greeted by 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, 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.

This was the first time that BJP leaders like Advani, Swaraj and Jaitley were included in the VVIP enclosure.
Naval Chief Admiral D K Joshi was absent following the submarine tragedy that hit in Mumbai yesterday morning. The other two Services chiefs -- General Bikram Singh and Air Chief N A K Browne -- were seen mixing with the crowd.