Rajasthan, MP in Centre's list of shortlisted states for participation in Republic Day Parade

Image for representational use only

New Delhi: The Centre, which has been facing sharp criticism for turning down the tableau proposals of various states, on Friday released a list of the states that have been shortlisted for participation in this year's Republic Day Parade. According to reports, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Telangana are among those states that have been shortlisted for the Republic Day Parade 2020.

Besides these states, the Defence Ministry's list of shortlisted participants also includes states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The list also includes names of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade; Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation; Department of Financial Services; NDRF, Ministry of Home Affairs; CPWD, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; and Ministry of Shipping.

Nearly seven opposition-ruled states feature in the Centre's list of shortlisted participants. However, the government has rejected the tableau proposals of West Bengal, Maharashtra and the Kerala governments.

Reacting to it, Kerala's Law Minister AK Balan alleged that the Centre's decision was "politically motivated". 

The Kerala government had proposed a theme depicting the art and architecture of the State, which was rejected by the screening committee of the Defence Ministry. This is the second consecutive time that the State`s proposal has been rejected. 

An official statement issued by the Defence Ministry said that proposals of 16 states/UTs and six Ministries/Departments have been shortlisted for participation in Republic Day Parade 2020.

''There is a well-established system for selection of tableaux for participation in the Republic Day Parade as per which Ministry of Defence invites proposals for tableau from all States/UTs and Central Ministries/Departments,'' the statement said.

The tableaux proposals received from various States/UTs and Central Ministries/Departments are evaluated in a series of meetings of the Expert Committee comprising of eminent persons in the field of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography etc. 

The Expert Committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations.

For Republic Day Parade 2020, a total of 56 tableaux proposals (32 from states/UTs and 24 from Ministries/Departments) were received. 

Out of these, 22 were shortlisted for participation in the Republic Day Parade 2020 after a series of five meetings.