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Tableau row: Martyrs don’t belong to rejected category, says Punjab CM Mann
Turns down Centre’s offer to display Punjab tableau at Bharat Parv after MoD says state’s proposal ‘did not make the grade’ for R-Day parade
Days after hitting out at the BJP-led central government over non-inclusion of the state tableau for the Republic Day parade, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday turned down the Union defence ministry’s offer to display the tableau at Bharat Parv to be organised at the Red Fort in New Delhi.
Mann, who had accused the Centre of discriminating against Punjab and Delhi in selection of tableaux, said his government will not send its tableau in the rejected categories list of the central government as the martyrs of the country do not need NOC (no objection certificate) from the BJP.
The ministry of defence (MoD) had, in a letter to the chief secretary on Saturday, asked the state government to display its tableau in Bharat Parv to be held from January 23 to 31. The Punjab government was invited by the central ministry to display its tableau in Bharat Parv as per clause 8 of their MoU.
Mann, while refusing the central ministry’s proposal, said that great martyrs, including Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Lala Lajpat Rai, Udham Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Mai Bhago, Ghadari Baabe and others cannot be kept in rejected category. The Union government is trying to belittle their contribution and sacrifice by not including their tableaus in the Republic Day parade, he alleged in a statement. He further said the state government does not need support of the central government to showcase these heroes rather it is capable enough to pay tributes to them.
The CM’s fresh attack on the BJP government at the Centre came even as the MoD rejected his discrimination charge. The ministry, in its first comments on the issue, said that the state’s tableau proposal did not make the grade. It said the state’s proposal was considered in the first three rounds of meeting of the expert committee. “After the third round of meeting, the tableau of Punjab could not be taken forward by the expert committee for further consideration for not aligning to the broader themes of this year’s tableau,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday morning in response to newspaper reports on Mann’s allegations.
The MoD said there is a well-established system to select tableaux for participation in the Republic Day Parade as per which the ministry of defence invites proposals for tableau from all states, union territories and central ministries and departments. The statement said the tableaux proposals are evaluated in a series of meeting of the ‘Expert Committee for selection of tableaux’ comprising eminent persons in the field of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography, etc. “The Expert Committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design, and visual impact before its recommendations. Due to time allotted for tableaux in the overall duration of the parade, short listing of tableaux is done the Expert Committee which leads to participation of the best tableaux in Parade,” according to the statement.
The defence ministry said that for Republic Day Parade, 2024, 30 states and UTs, including Punjab and West Bengal, had shown their willingness to participate. Out of these 30 states and UTs, like every year, only 15-16 states and UTs will be finally selected to present their tableaux in the Republic Day Parade, it said. Describing the criticism by the state as “baseless”, the ministry said that during the last few years, the tableau of Punjab has been shortlisted for Republic Day Parade by the Expert Committee in the years 2017 to 2022. “As states have to be treated equally, it is essential that states should be given the opportunity to display their tableaus as per a formula. The GOI is preparing a 3-year program covering all states/UTs which will be shared with all the states and UTs, the statement said.
Meanwhile, AAP’s Punjab chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said that after the ministry’s clarification, BJP state unit chief Sunil Jakar’s lie has been exposed. “Jakhar should now either show the concept of the tableau of Punjab government he claimed has the pictures of Mann and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal or he should apologize to the people of Punjab for his lies,” he said in a statement. After Mann’s allegations against the Centre, BJP’s state unit president Sunil Jakhar had accused Mann of politicising the non-inclusion of the state’s tableau and alleged that the AAP government insisted that the tableau carried his and Kejriwal’s photos and this was one of the reasons why it was excluded from the R-Day event. Mann had rubbished Jakhar’s claim, stating that he would quit politics if the state BJP chief proved his accusation.
