A collage of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
A collage of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

TN’s Republic Day tableau eliminated after 3rd round: Rajnath Singh to Stalin

CM Stalin had written to Prime Minister Modi questioning the rejection of Tamil Nadu’s tableau and exclusion from the upcoming Republic Day parade.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday, January 18, responded to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister questioning the rejection of the state’s tableau for the upcoming Republic Day parade. In the letter, Stalin had said that the rejection of Tamil Nadu's tableau — which included freedom fighters VO Chidambaranar, Mahakavi Bharathiyar, Rani Velu Nachiyar and the Maruthu brothers — is ‘disappointing’ and called for the Prime Minister to intervene. Responding to the Chief Minister’s letter, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Tamil Nadu’s tableau was considered in three rounds of meetings, but did not make it to the final list.

The Union Defence Minister said that a total of 29 proposals, including Tamil Nadu’s, were received by the expert committee that evaluates the tableaux.

“The Tableaux from the State Government of Tamil Nadu was considered in the first three rounds of meetings. After the third round of meeting, the tableaux could not make it into the final list of 12 Tableaux selected for participation in the RDP-2022,” Rajnath Singh said in the letter. He added that in the past few years, Tamil Nadu’s tableaux has made it to the Republic Day parade — in 2017, 2019, 2020 and in 2021. “The selection of tableaux is as per the prescribed guidelines on the matter,” the Union Minister added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had on Monday, January 17, written to the Prime Minister saying that excluding the tableau would deeply hurt the sentiments and patriotic feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu. "That the expert committee chooses to ignore and reject all the seven designs shown to it as per the modifications suggested by its members is unacceptable," the Chief Minister said.

Stalin’s letter came shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also questioned the Union government after the West Bengal tableau was rejected for the 2022 parade. "I have been profoundly shocked and hurt by the decision of the Government of India to abruptly exclude the proposed tableau of the Government of West Bengal from the ensuing Republic Day Parade. It is even more baffling for us that the tableau was rejected without assigning any reasons or justifications," Banerjee said in a two-page letter to Modi.

The Kerala government has also protested against the Union government's decision denying permission to the State's Republic Day parade tableau depicting social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.

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