Bengal’s R-Day tableau rejected, move could worsen Mamata Banerjee-Centre face-off
West Bengal’s tableau proposal for the upcoming Republic Day parade has been rejected — a decision that could strain ties between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the central government even further.
The Ministry of Defence didn’t provide a specific reason for the rejection in its statement, issued Wednesday.
It simply said that Bengal’s proposal was examined by an expert committee at two meetings and “not taken forward for further consideration”.
The Defence Ministry also pointed out that West Bengal’s 2019 proposal had been shortlisted as a result of the same process of selection.
Nonetheless, the move isn’t likely to go down well with the Mamata Banerjee government.
Banerjee has been one of the BJP’s fiercest critics; she has described its rule as a “draconian regime”. She has refused to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act or the National Register of Citizens in West Bengal, and recently dared the Centre to go for a UN-monitored referendum on the two policies — a comment described by one Union Minister as an “insult to the Indian Parliament”.
Besides, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool government has been at loggerheads with Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on a range of issues — from seating at a Durga Puja event to his unscheduled visit to Singur.
Twenty-two Republic Day tableau proposals — 16 from states and Union Territories, and six from central ministries — have been shortlisted, out of a total of 56.
