The NCP has hit out at BJP and said that the Modi-led government's rejection of Maharashtra's tableau for the Republic Day parade was an insult to the state which had made "valuable contribution" in India's freedom struggle.
In a series of tweets in Marathi, NCP MP Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar's daughter, said the Republic Day is a "festival of the country" and the centre is expected to give "representation to all the states".
"The Centre has rejected permissions to the tableaux of Maharashtra and West Bengal from parading on Republic Day. It is a festival of the country and the Centre is expected to give representation to all the states," Sule tweeted. "But the government is behaving in a prejudiced manner, giving step-motherly treatment to the states being ruled by the opposition parties," she added.
The Parliamentarian from Baramati also shared a news report that claims that the Defence Ministry has rejected West Bengal's tableau for the Republic Day parade (on January 26).
"The Centre has rejected permissions to the tableaux of Maharashtra and West Bengal from parading on Republic Day. It is a festival of the country and the Centre is expected to give representation to all the states," Sule tweeted. "But the government is behaving in a prejudiced manner, giving step-motherly treatment to the states being ruled by the opposition parties," she added.
The Parliamentarian from Baramati also shared a news report that claims that the Defence Ministry has rejected West Bengal's tableau for the Republic Day parade (on January 26).
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut wondered whether there was a political conspiracy behind the decision. "You will have to explain why the tableaux of the two states were rejected. The chief minister of Maharashtra should probe the matter. It has to be found out who is responsible for this. Are there elements having loyalty to previous government? There may not be. But this has to be probed," Sanjay Raut told Marathi news channel TV9.
Sule and Raut were responding to reports that the Ministry of Defence has selected 22 tableaux out of 56 proposals for the Republic Day parade. The selected tableau will feature 16 states and Union territories and six Central ministries.
