The Ministry of Defence on Sunday responded to the criticism for not including tableaux from Punjab, and Bengal saying that they did not align to the broader themes of this year. The ministry came with the statement after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann slammed Centre for not including Delhi and Punjab tableaux for the Republic Day parade.
In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said that there is a “well established” system for selection of tableaux for the participation in the Republic Day parade. As per the procedure, proposals are invited from states and Union Territories and Central ministries and departments by the ministry.
The proposals are evaluated in a series of meetings of the “expert committee for selection of tableaux” that comprises eminent persons in the field of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography etc, the statement added.
“The Expert Committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations. Due to time allotted for tableaux in the overall duration of the parade, shortlisting of tableaux is done by the Expert Committee which leads to participation of the best tableaux in Parade,” said the ministry.
As per the statement, the tableau proposal of Punjab was considered in the first three rounds of the meetings but could not be taken forward for further consideration “for not aligning to the broader themes of this year's tableau.”
Likewise, the proposal by West Bengal was considered for the first two rounds but could not be taken further for the same reason as Punjab’s, the statement added.
Earlier this week, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged the Centre of discrimination for not including the state's tableau in the Republic Day parade. "The Centre has discriminated against Punjab," Mann alleged, pointing out that both Punjab and Delhi were not included in the list of selected states for the parade.