The tableau of Tamil Nadu rejected by the Union government would be showcased in the state's Republic Day celebrations, said Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday, January 18. The tableau features contributions of freedom fighters from the state in the Independence movement. The CM also said that arrangements would be made to organise photo exhibitions in key cities of the country, taking forward an expo held recently by the state government to showcase Tamil Nadu's role in the freedom struggle.
“It is a matter of regret and shock that the Union government has not assigned any reason for denying Tamil Nadu the opportunity to be a part of the celebrations in the national capital,” Stalin said, pointing to a letter from the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to him in this regard. The CM had sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention, on January 17, to have TN's tableau included in celebrations in Delhi and Singh's letter is in response to it.
Tamil Nadu's contributions right from the Vellore revolution (1806) are very significant in the nation's struggle for independence, he said in a statement. Chronicling the sacrifices of TN's freedom fighters, including Veerathai VeluNachiyar, Poolithevan, Veerapandia Kattabomman, the Marudhu brothers, VO Chidambaranar and nationalist poet Bharathiyar, he said Tamil Nadu had designed its float to remember them and their contributions.
Since TN has now been denied the opportunity to recall the contributions of such freedom fighters from the state, the tableau that was originally proposed for inclusion in the Delhi Republic Day event will be a part of state government's celebrations in Chennai on January 26, the Chief Minister said. This tableau will also be taken to Tamil Nadu's important cities so that people could take a look at the contributions of the state's freedom fighters, he added.
Meanwhile, even West Bengal has decided to showcase its tableau, which was also rejected by the Union government, during Republic Day celebrations in Kolkata, a senior official told PTI on Tuesday. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also written to Rajnath Singh contesting her state's exclusion from the Republic Day parade, and the Union Defence Minister had responded to her as well, in a separate letter, that the West Bengal tableau did not make it to the parade.
"We will come out with a tableau on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary during the Republic Day parade on Red Road. We have started preparations for that," a West Bengal official said.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had on Tuesday said that 12 tableaux will be displayed during the upcoming day parade, out of 29 proposals that were initially received.
With PTI inputs