Amid criticism following the rejection of Republic Day parade proposals by the West Bengal and Maharashtra, the Ministry of Defence has clarified that a total of 56 tableaux proposals have been recieved. Out of this 32 are from states and union territories and 24 from Ministries and Department. The Centre has shortlisted applications by 16 states/UTs and 6 by Ministries.
A series of five meetings took place after it shortlisted the participants.
Earlier, in what could lead to a potential Centre-state row, Maharashtra's proposed tableau for the prestigious Republic Day Parade this year has been rejected, sparking strong reactions in the state political circles here on Tuesday.
In a sharp reaction, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut demanded to know "what is the conspiracy behind this?" and questioned the state BJP's silence on the issue.
"If the Congress was at the Centre, and such a thing would have happened, would the state BJP remain silent on it?" he asked.
Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule slammed the BJP for rejecting the state's tableau, terming it as an "insult" to both Maharashtra and West Bengal.
"Republic Day is celebrated all over India and all states should participate in the parade. But the (BJP) government is acting aggressively and treating non-BJP ruled states with discriminatory behaviour," said Sule, the daughter of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.
Similarly dismissed is a tableau planned by the West Bengal government - both the states have non-Bharatiya Janata Party governments and have taken a strong stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act and other recent issues.
The Trinamool Congress on Thursday hit out at the Centre for rejecting West Bengal's tableau proposals to showcase its schemes during the Republic Day parade, alleging it insulted the people of the state for protesting against the amended Citizenship Act.
The state BJP was quick to return fire, accusing the TMC government of not properly following rules and procedure, which it said caused the rejection.
The West Bengal government had submitted proposals to display at the parade its award-winning cash transfer scheme "Kanyashree" besides giving alternatives of "Sabuj Sathi" (distribution of bicycle among school students) and "Jol Dhoro Jol Bhoro" project that seeks to conserve water, sources said.
A Defence Ministry statement had on Wednesday said an expert committee has rejected West Bengal's proposal after examining it in two rounds of meeting.
"The tableau proposal of the West Bengal government was not taken forward for further consideration by the expert committee after deliberations in the second meeting."
"It is pertinent to mention here that the tableau of the government of West Bengal was short-listed for participation in the Republic day parade 2019 as an outcome of the same process," it said.
West Bengal Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Tapas Roy accused the BJP-led central government of having a "vindictive" attitude towards the state.
This is not for the first time that West Bengal's tableau proposal has been turned down. There have been previous instances also, he said.
"Such cheap politics won't deter us from opposing anti- people policies. The BJP has insulted the people of West Bengal and they would get a befitting reply for it in the near future," Roy said.
