Republic Day Parade: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday lashed out at the BJP-led Central government after the state’s tableau was not included in this year’s Republic Day parade in Delhi. Mann asserted that a Republic Day parade is unimaginable without the representation of Punjab, a state which has made countless sacrifices for the nation.
Addressing a Republic Day function in Ludhiana, Mann said the tableaux which were “rejected” by the Centre were on Friday included in the parade in the state. The chief minister also slammed Centre on other issues related to the state.
“Punjab is a very loyal state and a situation should not be created where this loyalty is mistrusted,” said Mann.
Recently, the chief minister had said the Narendra Modi BJP government rejected the tableau of his state because of the Centre’s “anti-Punjab syndrome”.
The Centre has rejected as “baseless” Mann’s criticism of the BJP-led government for not including the state’s tableau in the Republic Day parade and his allegations of discrimination.
“The tableau proposal of Punjab was considered in the first three rounds of a meeting of the expert committee. After the third round … the tableau of Punjab could not be taken forward … for not aligning to the broader themes of this year’s tableau,” the Defence Ministry had said in a statement following Mann’s accusations.
Addressing the Republic Day event a Ludhiana, Bhagwant Mann said Punjab is the land of sacrifices and Punjabis have made countless sacrifices for the motherland, fought wars and were at the forefront of the country’s freedom struggle.
“But it is sad when Punjab’s tableaux are not included in the Republic Day parade. Just now, we have taken out these tableaux here before you. Is there anything in them which is odd?” he asked the gathering.
“These tableaux show photos of our prominent freedom fighters, our rich culture, sacrifices of our valiant heroes. Then how can you celebrate and imagine a Republic Day without them?” he said.
ਅਯੁੱਧਿਆ 'ਚ ਰਾਮ ਮੰਦਰ ਬਣਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ… ਸਭ ਨੂੰ ਉੱਥੇ ਜਾਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ… ਸਾਡੀਆਂ ਦੀਵਾਲੀਆਂ, ਸਾਡੇ ਦੁਸ਼ਿਹਰੇ, ਸਾਡੀਆਂ ਲੋਹੜੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਸਾਡੀਆਂ ਵਿਸਾਖੀਆਂ ਸਾਂਝੀਆਂ ਨੇ… ਅਸੀਂ ਧਰਮ ਤੇ ਜਾਤੀ ਦੀ ਰਾਜਨੀਤੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਰਦੇ… ਅਸੀਂ ਕੰਮ ਦੀ ਰਾਜਨੀਤੀ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਾਂ… pic.twitter.com/MeIqFQOtlm
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) January 26, 2024
The Chief Minister also noted that Punjab is the food bowl of the nation and meets the food needs of the entire country.
“Our water table has gone down. And then they take cudgels, they tell us they won’t give MSP (Minimum Support Price for crops),” Mann said in another salvo at attacking the Centre.
The chief minister said Punjab shares a 553-kilometre-long border with Pakistan and “drones, drugs, weapons keep coming in from there. We have to pay attention on that front too”.
“Punjab is a very loyal state. Kindly don’t create such a situation, don’t mistrust our loyalty,” he added.
Mann also said he felt anguished with the Army for not giving a guard of honour during the last rites of Agniveer Amritpal Singh, who died in Jammu and Kashmir on October 11.
The chief minister later shared news from the personal front, saying, “I want to make a personal announcement. In my home, too, I am expecting the birth of a child in March. My wife Dr Gurpreet is seven months pregnant … Our only wish is that be it a girl or a boy, the child should be healthy.”
Mann further said his government is taking several steps to empower women.
“We believe in ‘kaam ki rajneeti’ and not ‘naam ki rajneeti’. We have adopted the model of the (Arvind) Kejriwal government in Punjab too,” Mann added.
(With PTI inputs)
