Rejected tableau now part of state parade: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the “unity in brotherhood” tableau from the state, which was rejected by the Centre for next year’s Republic Day parade, will be included in the Red Road parade here on January 26.

Inaugurating “Bangla Sangeet Mela” here, Ms Banerjee said, the tableau might have been rejected by Centre, but will not be rejected by the people.

“Let them reject (the tableau). People will not reject. This will be the first among other tableaux which will roll out on Red Road during the Republic Day parade,” she said.

Ms Banerjee had said on Friday at the Christmas Festival inauguration here that rejecting the tableau which would project the theme “Ekatai Sampriti” (unity is brotherhood) was an “insult” to West Bengal.

At the Sangeet Mela inaugural function on Saturday, Ms Banerjee said music can be an important platform in fostering unity and amity as music can instantly connect with every human being.

She said her government was committed in showing respect and supporting the singers of the state who had made Bengal proud.

“We will celebrate in a grand way the 100th year of singer Dwijen Mukhopadhyay. People like him are the bridge between the past traditions and the present,” she said about the 90-year old veteran Rabindra Sangeet exponent.

“It hurts me to say that this year the Bengal tableau has been rejected from the Republic Day parade. But why? This is an insult for our state,” she said on Friday.

“Our Republic Day tableau have been awarded the first prize twice in recent years. In 2015 we had sent one tableau depicting our Kanyashree project but they did not accept it. The same project went on to win the United Nation public service award,” she said.

The tableaux representing various states are selected by an expert committee set up by the ministry of defence (MoD) which is the nodal agency that organises the grand show on Rajpath each year.