Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his disappointment over the Centre rejecting Karnataka’s proposal of tableau to be showcased at the Republic Day parade to be held in New Delhi on January 26.
“The Central government has insulted the seven crore Kannadigas by denying the state the opportunity to showcase its tableau. Karnataka faced similar situation even last year. Our tableau was initially rejected and later approved keeping the Karnataka elections in mind,” alleged Siddaramaiah.
Amid the opposition parties alleging “discrimination” against non-BJP ruled states, Karnataka too made a case against the Centre. The state has the rare distinction of being the only state in the country to have participated in the tableau section during the Republic Day parade for 14 consecutive years. Last year, Karnataka had featured Soolagitthi (midwife) Narasamma, who had performed more than 2,000 deliveries in seven decades as part of the 'Nari Shakti’ tableau reflecting women empowerment. The tableaux also featured Padma Shri awardees and green warriors Saalumarada Thimmakka from Tumakuru who planted 8,000 trees and Tulsigowda from Ankola who planted over 30,000 saplings.
This year, Karnataka had proposed a tableaux based on Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (Ruler of erstwhile Mysuru Kingdom), Nadaprabhu Kempegowda—a Vokkaliga icon and chieftain of the Vijayanagara empire and architect of Bengaluru city, Brand Bengaluru and ‘Annamma Devi’ temple (a famous fever goddess temple) built by Hanumantha Nayaka, a chieftain of the Vijayanagara empire.
“The Central Committee rejecting our proposals has denied us a chance to showcase to the nation our state's immense achievements and exemplary figures. The fact that the Congress government is in power in the state seems to be a concerning factor to the BJP-led central government. From devolution of tax, injustice in drought relief funds, to the sale of banks, ports, and airports built by Kannadigas, the Centre is constantly attacking Kannadigas with political malice. By rejecting our tableau presentation, it has attacked our identity again,” said Siddaramaiah in a social media post.
Siddaramaiah also said it was “unfortunate” that BJP MPs from Karnataka did not question the “injustice”. “They have become puppets of Narendra Modi. To whom are they loyal? Kannadigas or Narendra Modi?,” asked the chief minister.
It may be recalled that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had accused the Centre of discrimination after the latter rejected the tableaux from Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal, saying that they didn't align with the "broader theme" of this year's parade.
However the defence ministry had clarified that as a norm, an expert committee comprising eminent persons in the fields of arts, culture, painting, music, architecture, choreography and sculpture, appointed by the Centre, screened the proposals from 30 states and UTs to pick 15-16 states.
