The Centre on Sunday dismissed the charges of discrimination after rejecting the Republic Day 2024 tableaux from Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal, saying that they didn’t align with the “broader theme” of this year’s celebratory parade.
Clarifying why the tableaux were not included in the Republic Day 2024 parade, the Defence Ministry said the proposals from states and Union territories were reviewed by an “expert committee” of artistes from different industries, and there was no bias by the Centre.
The tableau proposal of Punjab was considered in the first three rounds of meetings of the expert committee, but was ultimately rejected for not aligning with the theme. West Bengal’s sources were also rejected for the same reasons, reported news agency PTI citing the ministry sources.
The expert committee for the examination of tableaux set up by the Centre consists of eminent persons in the fields of arts, culture, painting, music, architecture, choreography, sculpture and more.
For Republic Day Parade 2024, 30 states/UTs had shown their willingness to participate in the parade including the State of Punjab and West Bengal, the sources said. Out of them, like every year, only 15-16 states/UTs will be finally selected to present their tableaux in the Republic Day Parade 2024, it added.
The sources added that the states and UTs that are not selected for the Republic Day parade are being invited to showcase their tableaux in Bharat Parv at Red Fort, New Delhi from 23-31 January 2024, as part of inclusive celebrations.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s allegations
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann hit out at the BJP-led central government last week over the non-inclusion of the state’s tableau for the Republic Day parade, alleging the Centre has discriminated against the states ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party.
The Punjab CM said similar to last year, the Punjab tableau for Republic Day will not be included in the parade this year as well, showing the “poison” in the heart of the Centre for the people of Punjab.
Mann and Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the reason why the Centre keeps “bothering” both Delhi and Punjab is because the governments are led by the AAP.
(With inputs from ANI)
