AAP accuses Centre of discrimination as Delhi, Punjab tableaus get excluded from Republic Day parade

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has criticised the Centre’s decision to exclude Delhi and Punjab from the upcoming Republic Day parade's tableau. AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar has called it politically motivated.

"This decision is driven by politics. The Delhi government wanted to showcase its education and health model at the Republic Day parade. But Delhi and Punjab tableaux were excluded from selection," PTI quoted her as alleging.

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Kakkar stated that Delhi wanted to show its progress in health and education at the parade. She noticed that states like Assam, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh had been in the parade for the last five years, unlike Delhi and Punjab. The said three states are governed by the BJP.

Punjab CM’s reaction

Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also objected to the exclusion as an insult to Punjab's identity.

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"If they have their way, they will take out the word 'Punjab' from the national anthem," CM Mann told reporters.

CM Mann also took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “This decision of the BJP government at the Centre shows how much poison is in their hearts against Punjabis.”

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“Today, the value of the martyrdom of Punjabis by the BJP government at the Centre has been presented to 3 crore Punjabis through the media. This time again the tableau of Punjab was not included in the 26th January parade...we sent 3 subjects...1. History of Martyrs of Punjabis 2. History of Mai Bhago Ji 3. Priceless heritage of Punjab,” he added.

What BJP says

BJP leader Harjeet Grewal alleges that AAP's narrative around this rejection is misleading and based on false allegations. Grewal insists that tableaus failing to meet specific criteria are rightfully omitted. He urged AAP to disclose the exact reasons for the tableau's exclusion.

"There is a committee to select the tableaus and there are some set parameters, which have to be met. If a tableau doesn't meet the set parameters, it is rejected. I think that the Aam Aadmi Party tries to mislead people and make false accusations against the centre. They should come up with the details on why it was rejected," ANI quoted him as saying.

(With agency inputs)