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TN tableau rejected by Centre will be displayed in Chennai: Stalin
With the union government rejecting Tamil Nadu’s tableau, chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday said the same will be displayed during the Republic Day celebration in Chennai and will be taken to other major cities in the state for public viewing
With the union government rejecting Tamil Nadu’s tableau, chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday said the same will be displayed during the Republic Day celebration in Chennai and will be taken to other major cities in the state for public viewing.
The controversy over the tableau has been going back and forth between the state and the union government for two days. After West Bengal and Kerala, Stalin on Monday expressed his disappointment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Tamil Nadu’s tableau being rejected and sought his intervention.
In response, defence minister Rajnath Singh wrote to Stalin on Tuesday explaining that Tamil Nadu was eliminated in round 3 of the expert committee’s selection process. Singh sought to remind him that Tamil Nadu’s tableaux was selected for the Republic Day parade in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Following this, Stalin in a statement said they were not called for the fourth round of meeting and no reason was given for their rejection adding that Singh’s letter also did not mention any reason which he termed as shocking.
Tamil Nadu had submitted a theme “Tamil Nadu in the Freedom Struggle” depicting the renowned freedom fighters from the state VO Chidambaranar and poet Subramania Bharathiyar. The rear of the tableau had been designed to showcase a statue of Rani Velu Nachiyar riding a horse with a sword in hand and with women soldiers.
“Even before Jhansi Rani flung the sword, Tamil Nadu’s Rani Velu Nachiyar became the first queen who fought against the British,” Stalin said. “Tamil Nadu’s 250-year old contribution for India’s freedom struggle is no less than any other state,” Stalin said.
He said the Vellore revolution which took place half a century ago before the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny is an important beginning against the British. “We designed our tableau in a way to commemorate their contributions,” Stalin said, adding this has affected sentiments and patriotic feelings of the state’s people.
