The Centre has rejected the tableau proposals for the upcoming Republic Day parade from the states of West Bengal and Maharashtra, triggering a heated of war of words between leaders of both the opposition-ruled states and the government.
While it was reported in the morning that the tableau proposal from West Bengal had been rejected by an expert panel of the defence ministry, it has now emerged that even the proposal from Maharashtra has been nixed.
Baramati MP Supriya Sule questioned the transparency in the selection process, noting in a tweet in Marathi that both the states had played significant roles in the freedom struggle.
Madan Mitra from the Trinamool Congress was scathing in his criticism of Centre's decision, commenting that the move indicated that Delhi had been afraid of West Bengal. "It's not new in the history of Bengal. Delhi is afraid of Bengal. They can cancel the tableau of Bengal in Delhi but Bengal will cancel NRC and CAA in Bengal," he said.
Twenty-two proposals, 16 from states and union territories and six from central ministries -- out of a total 56 have been short-listed for this Republic Day parade, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Ministry had received 32 tableau proposals from states and union territories and 24 from central ministries and departments.
"Out of these, 22 proposals, comprising 16 states/UTs and 6 ministries/departments, have finally been short-listed for participation in the Republic Day Parade 2020 after a series of five meetings," a statement by the ministry said.
West Bengal govt's tableau rejected by Centre
The West Bengal government's proposal was rejected after an expert committee examined it in two rounds of meeting, it said.
"The tableau proposal of the West Bengal government was not taken forward for further consideration by the expert committee after deliberations in the second meeting.
"It is pertinent to mention that the tableau of the Government of West Bengal was short-listed for participation in the Republic Day Parade 2019 as an outcome of the same process," it added.
Well established system for selection tableau participation
There is a well-established system for selection of tableau for participation in the Republic Day Parade. The Ministry of Defence invites proposals from all states, union territories, central ministries and departments.
The proposals are then evaluated in a series of meetings of the Expert Committee comprising eminent persons in the fields of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography, etc.
The Committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations, the statement said.
Due to time constraints, only a limited number of tableau can be short-listed for participation in the parade. "The selection process in vogue, leads to participation of the best tableau in the parade," the statement added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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