The Modi government at the Center has announced its decision to start Republic Day celebrations on 23 January on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Last year also, the tableau of West Bengal was not given permission by the Center to participate in the Republic Day parade.
Mamata Banerjee and Narendra Modi. (Photo: PTI)
Kolkata: A day after the Modi government at the Center announced its decision to start Republic Day celebrations on January 23 to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to present the proposed tableau of the state. Urged to reconsider the decision to oust. The proposed tableau for the Republic Day parade is based on the freedom fighters of the state.
Even in the year 2020, the tableau of West Bengal was not allowed to participate in the Republic Day parade. Apart from Bengal, tableaux from Maharashtra, Kerala and Bihar were also not allowed.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed surprise over the Centre’s decision to exclude West Bengal’s tableau based on the contribution of freedom fighters from the upcoming Republic Day parade in Delhi.
He wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, urging him to reconsider the decision, as the people of the state would be “pained” by the move.
In a two-page letter to Modi, Banerjee said, “I am shocked and hurt by the decision of the Government of India to abruptly drop the proposed tableau of the West Bengal government from the upcoming Republic Day parade. It is even more shocking to us that the tableau was rejected without giving any reason or justification.
The Chief Minister said that the proposed tableau was made on the 125th birth anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in memory of his and the contribution of the Azad Hind Fauj.
Banerjee’s letter said that the proposed tableau also had pictures of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Rabindranath Tagore, Vivekananda, Chittaranjan Das, Sri Aurobindo, Matangini Hazra, Birsa Munda and Nazrul Islam.
Banerjee has said in the letter, ‘I want to inform you that the people of West Bengal are very hurt by this attitude of the central government. It is surprising to know that the contribution of the brave freedom fighters here has not found any place in the Republic Day celebrations on the 75th year of independence to celebrate this occasion.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Banerjee said, “I urge you to reconsider this decision and include the tableau of freedom fighters of West Bengal in the Republic Day parade on the 75th year of independence.”
According to the Economic Times report, a Defense Ministry official, who has been involved in the selection process of the tableaux, said that the entire process follows a specific guideline and requires experts from the fields of art, architecture, design, culture and music. A committee takes the final decision.
The official has denied any bias against West Bengal. In 2016, the tableau of West Bengal on Baul singers was awarded as the best tableau.
Trinamool Congress MPs Sukhendu Shekhar Roy and Saugata Roy also reacted in this regard and said that the party would protest against the undermining of Netaji by the Centre.
Sources close to the TMC said this is the fourth time that the tableau proposal for West Bengal has been rejected in the last few years (2015, 2017 and 2020).
Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has also written to Defense Minister Rajnath Singh over non-approval of the tableau, calling it an “insult to the people of West Bengal, its cultural heritage and the great hero Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose”.
According to the report, of the 32 tableaux displayed in the parade last year, 17 were from states and union territories, while the rest were from the Ministry of Defence, government departments and paramilitary forces.
Then Uttar Pradesh was given the award for the best tableau. A replica of the Ram temple of Ayodhya was depicted in the tableau. Tripura, Assam, Maharashtra are the states that have won similar awards over the years.
(with input from news agency language)
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