Shared News| January 3, 2020 2:05:09 pm
The government has selected 22 tableaux proposals for the Republic Day parade this year. (File Photo)
The Ministry of Defence Friday released the list of states which will present their tableaux in the upcoming Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath in New Delhi. The government has selected 22 tableaux proposals — six by departments and ministries and 16 by states and Union Territories — for the Republic Day parade this year.
The states included in the list are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, along with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Department of Financial Services, NDRF Ministry of Home Affairs, CPWD Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Ministry of Shipping.
The list comes a day after the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Shiv Sena, NCP and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Thursday hit out at the government after the tableau proposals of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar were rejected.
The TMC on Thursday said the decision was an insult to the people of the state by the Modi government for protesting against the new citizenship law.
“Just because West Bengal has been opposing anti-people policies of the BJP government, step-motherly treatment is being meted out to the state. As we have opposed anti-people laws like CAA, the Centre has rejected our tableau proposal,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Tapas Roy said.
The BJP has, however, denied that the decision to reject Maharashtra’s tableau was an act of vindictiveness.
“Tableaux of only 16 states have been selected this year. In order for all states to get representation, states are given representation on a rotational basis. Maharashtra has not received representation in the past too. At all these previous occasions, barring two, there was a Congress government both at the Centre and in the state,” BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said.
In a statement, the Defence Ministry said the West Bengal government’s proposal was rejected after an expert committee examined the same in two meetings.
“It is pertinent to mention here that the tableau of the Government of West Bengal was shortlisted for participation in the Republic Day Parade 2019 as an outcome of the same process,” the statement added.
