The West Bengal tableau at the Republic Day Parade in 2019. (PTI) The West Bengal tableau at the Republic Day Parade in 2019. (PTI)

Alleging vendetta politics and insult to the people by the BJP-led government at the Centre, the TMC, Shiv Sena, NCP and RJD Thursday hit out at the Union government after the tableau proposals of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar were rejected for the Republic Day parade this year.

The government has selected 22 tableaux proposals — six by departments and ministries and 16 by states and Union Territories — for the Republic Day parade this year.

The BJP has denied that the decision to reject Maharashtra’s tableau was an act of vindictiveness. “Tableaux of only 16 states have been selected this year. In order for all states to get representation, states are given representation on a rotational basis. Maharashtra has not received representation in the past too. At all these previous occasions, barring two, there was a Congress government both at the Centre and in the state,” BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said in Mumbai.

In a statement, the Defence Ministry said the West Bengal government’s proposal was rejected after an expert committee examined the same in two meetings. “It is pertinent to mention here that the tableau of the Government of West Bengal was shortlisted for participation in the Republic Day Parade 2019 as an outcome of the same process,” the Defence Ministry said.

The TMC on Thursday said the decision was an insult to the people of the state by the Modi government for protesting against the new citizenship law.

“Just because West Bengal has been opposing anti-people policies of the BJP government, step-motherly treatment is being meted out to the state. As we have opposed anti-people laws like CAA, the Centre has rejected our tableau proposal,” West Bengal Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Tapas Roy said.

In Maharashtra, leaders of the Shiv Sena and NCP alleged that the move smacked of vendetta by the Modi government. “Maharashtra and West Bengal tableaux have not been included. The doubt does crop up as names of the two states were dropped because both have a non-BJP government,” Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.

NCP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule said the BJP was discriminating against the state. “… (BJP) government is acting aggressively and treating non-BJP ruled states with discriminatory behaviour,” Sule said.

In Bihar, the opposition RJD took potshots at the NDA government at the Centre for “humiliating” the people of Bihar. “They (NDA government) earlier shot down Bihar’s demand for special status and has now rejected a proposal to showcase its scheme through a tableau on the Republic Day… This is the truth of the ‘double-engine’ government trumpeted by the BJP,” RJD spokesman Mritunjan Tiwari said.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.