No West Bengal Tableau in Republic Day Parade This Year as Centre Rejects Proposal

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry has rejected West Bengal’s tableau for the Republic Day parade on January 26 in a move that could spark a fresh row between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Centre.

Twenty-two proposals — 16 from states and union territories and six from central ministries — out of a total 56 have been shortlisted for this parade.

In a statement, the ministry said the Bengal government's proposal was rejected after an Expert Committee examined 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 added, "It is pertinent to mention here that the tableau of the Government of West Bengal was shortlisted for participation in the Republic Day Parade 2019 as an outcome of the same process.”

The ministry had received 32 tableau proposals from states and union territories and 24 from central ministries and departments.

There is a well-established system for selection of tableau for participation in the Republic Day Parade. The Ministry of Defence invites proposals from all states, union territories, central ministries and departments.

The proposals are then evaluated in a series of meetings of the Expert Committee comprising eminent persons in the fields of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography, etc.

The committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations, the statement said.

Due to time constraints, only a limited number of tableau can be shortlisted for participation in the parade. "The selection process in vogue, leads to participation of the best tableau in the parade," the statement added.

Amid the BJP’s increasing footprint in the state, the Trinamool Congress-led Bengal government is at loggerheads with the Centre over several issues, the latest being the face-off over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).