The ruling Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal is disappointed for not being given a chance to take part in 66th Republic Day parade in the presence of US President Barack Obama was present as the chief guest.
As per NDTV reports, council member of Bengal's ruling party Derek O'Brien tweeted saying, "Bengal tableaux for Republic Day depicting path-breaking Kanya Shree initiative was not allowed. We repeatedly requested... Life goes on."
The tableau was reportedly rejected at the last minute as the "Kanya Shree" theme was almost similar to the recently launched "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme of the Modi government for women empowerment and welfare of the girl child.
The defence ministry which organises the Republic Day parade informed West Bengal that a state tableau should give an overall perspective of the state instead of focusing on just one theme. The defence ministry also insisted that the selection of the states for the parade were entirely based on merit.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is much opposed to the ruling BJP at the centre, decided to not work on a fresh one. The state had won the Best Tableau Award in the previous year's parade.
Other states whose tableaux were rejected include Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Kerala and Delhi none of which are ruled by the BJP. However, states ruled by BJP allies like Punjab and Nagaland were also missing from the parade.
