State chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee requested all to stand up for the national anthem at Red Road where the ceremony was being held.
Abdullah, also the National Conference president, was seen talking over his mobile phone when everyone was standing in attention.
Standing next to him was Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad.
A galaxy of political leaders were present at the ceremony. Among them were Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi.
Reacting to the incident, Senior Congress leader Ambika Soni said "I really don't know what happened. But, whenever the national anthem is being played, we all should stand in attention."