Row erupts after Karnataka’s Republic Day tableau rejected

The Congress said that several tableau proposals were sent from Karnataka, but “unfortunately” the Centre has rejected all of them.

The Centre’s decision to not include Karnataka’s tableau for this year’s Republic Day parade in the national capital has turned into a political row, with the Congress terming it an “insult” to 70 million Kannadigas while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the state government of politicising the issue.

Karnataka’s tableau during the Republic Day celebrations last year. (HT)

“The Central Government has insulted the seven crore [70 million] Kannadigas by denying the opportunity for the state’s tableau at the Republic Day parade to be held in New Delhi on January 26th. Karnataka faced a similar situation even last year as our state’s tableau was initially rejected. They [BJP-led Centre] later permitted keeping Karnataka elections in mind. This time, the central government has again continued its trend of insulting Kannadigas,” chief minister Siddaramaiah posted on X, formerly twitter, on Tuesday.

The senior Congress leader said that several tableau proposals were sent from Karnataka, but “unfortunately” the Centre has rejected all of them. “We had conceptualised the tableau of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar to depict his immense contributions to democracy and the development of our state. We also sent proposals to depict the contributions of Kittur Rani Chennamma and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda too along with the proposals to showcase Karnataka’s rich nature and Brand Bengaluru. However, the Central Committee rejected our request, depriving us of the opportunity to introduce the nation to our state’s immense achievements and exemplary figures,” he added.

The fact that the Congress government is in power in the state seems to be a concerning factor to the BJP-led central government, Siddaramaiah alleged. “It is unfortunate that the BJP MPs in Karnataka are not questioning this injustice. They have become puppets of Narendra Modi. To whom are they loyal? Kannadigas or Narendra Modi?” he added.

Responding to Siddaramaiah’s accusation, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said the Congress government should have approached the Centre instead of trying to politicise the issue. Pointing out that Karnataka tableaux were part of the Republic Day parade for 14 consecutive years, he added the state could not get the chance this year because other states were given opportunity.

“As far as the tableau issue is concerned, Karnataka has had an opportunity for the last 14 years. Since every state has to get the opportunity, Karnataka has missed this time,” Vijayendra told reporters on Wednesday.

Last year when Karnataka’s tableau proposal initially did not get permission, the then BJP-led state government “rushed” to Delhi, made a request and ensured that the state got the chance. “But this time the state government did not choose to do that. Immediately when they got the information that Karnataka is not getting the opportunity, instead of making it a political issue, they should have approached the central government,” the BJP legislator from Shikaripura said.

He, however, claimed that Karnataka will be given an opportunity at the Republic Day parade next year. “The state tableau will be kept in the exhibition so that no injustice happens to the state… Unfortunately, the present government in Karnataka, especially the chief minister, is trying to make an issue out of this...,” Vijayendra said.

Earlier, amid allegations of discrimination against the Centre as levelled by some opposition-ruled states, including Punjab, the defence ministry had said that the proposals from states and Union territories (UTs) were reviewed by an “expert committee” of artistes from different industries, and there was no bias by the Centre.

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.

Defence ministry officials familiar with the development said the selection process for Republic Day Parade 2024 tableaux adopted a “transparent and consultative approach”, commencing with a meeting chaired by the defence secretary on May 25, 2023.

“States and Union territories (UTs) were informed about a three-year rolling plan for tableau participation, and a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was shared for feedback. States/UTs were urged to engage the public in theme selection through competitions on platforms like My Gov. Most states expressed willingness for the next three years, and 30 agencies were empanelled to encourage new talent for tableau design,” one of the officials said, declining to be named.

An expert committee, comprising renowned artists, selected 16 states and UTs for Republic Day Parade 2024, the official said. “Opposition-ruled states were included, while others like Uttarakhand and Goa were not selected. Karnataka, a signatory to the MoU, will participate in Bharat Parv at Red Fort, Delhi, [from January 23 to 31] alongside other states…,” the official added.