Kejriwal slams BJP for not allowing Delhi tableau at Republic Day parade

Hitting back, the BJP said that the Kejriwal is attempting to divert attention from real issues being faced by the public ahead of the polls

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government after Delhi’s proposed tableau did not make the selection cut for the Republic Day parade for the fourth straight year, saying that the BJP has no vision for the people of Delhi. To be sure, the tableau of AAP-ruled Punjab has been selected for the parade.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI)

Hitting back, the BJP said that the selection of tableaux is made by a designated committee, that the AAP is aware that only a limited number of tableau are allowed in the parade, and by making an issue of the matter, it is attempting to divert attention from real issues being faced by the public ahead of the Delhi assembly elections in 2025.

Addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters, Kejriwal said: “Why do they hate the people of Delhi so much? Delhi is the capital of India and the tableau of Delhi should participate every year in the 26th January parade. For the last four years, the tableau of Delhi has not been allowed to participate in the parade. What kind of politics is this? Why should the people of Delhi vote for them?”

However, government officials aware of the matter had said on Saturday that the selection of tableaux for the 2025 Republic Day parade was based on a transparent process.

“The selection process is transparent and has clearly laid-down criteria. Delhi’s tableau has featured in the parade seven times in the last two decades,” said one of the officials cited above. According to guidelines issued last year, every state and Union Territory will get to feature in the parade once in three years if it meets the laid-down criteria.

To be sure, the tableaux proposed by different states and Union Territories are selected after several rounds of evaluation by a committee consisting of experts from the fields of arts, culture, music and dance. The expert panel examines the tableaux proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations.

Tableaux from 15 states and Union Territories have been selected for the upcoming Republic Day parade. They are: Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Haryana.

In the past, some states have expressed disappointment over the Centre rejecting their tableaux.

In 2022, for instance, chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin expressed disappointment over the Centre rejecting the tableaux of their respective states for the Republic Day celebrations, and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in the matter.

Kejriwal lashed out at the BJP saying that the party was only fighting the upcoming assembly elections by abusing him and the AAP. “They had no narrative for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, no vision or programme about what they will do for the people of Delhi. They only abuse Kejriwal and the AAP. Should we vote for them just for this? Why are the tableau and the people of Delhi being stopped from participating in the 26th January parade?”

In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that Kejriwal has little respect for Republic Day. “The people of Delhi have not forgotten what Kejriwal did in 2014. When the entire city was energised to celebrate Republic Day, Kejriwal was staging a protest,” he said.

“By making a political statement regarding Republic Day, Kejriwal has once again showcased his petty politics. What exactly he plans to display in the tableau — Delhi’s broken roads or the painful story of deaths caused by water logging, the deplorable state of the Yamuna or something else? If Kejriwal still believes Delhi deserves a tableau in the parade, he should first showcase the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ symbolising the corruption under his governance,” he added.