Blame game over rejection of Odisha tableau for R-day parade

The Congress and the BJP Monday blamed the Odisha government over the rejection of the state tableau for this year's Republic Day parade at New Delhi, while the ruling BJD termed the rejection as 'unfortunate'.

Former Congress MP Pradeep Majhi said in a tweet: "Wondering why Odisha didn't send a tableau, bcoz its so easy just put plaster of Paris Naveen (Patnaik) sleeping on a bed of notes."

Odisha is blessed with a rich culture and heritage but the state government has failed to select a tableau to showcase during the Republic Day parade attended by chief guest US President Barack Obama, said Sajjan Sharma, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson.

However, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) tried to shift the blame to the central government for rejecting the Odisha tableau.

"The reason behind the rejection of the tableau is not clear. But it should not be done in a federal country. It is unfortunate," said BJD spokesperson Ravinarayan Nanda.

BJD Lok Sabha MP Baijayant Panda said in a tweet that it was disappointing. This is for the second consecutive year that the Odisha tableau got rejected by the central government.

Majority of non-BJP ruled states like Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, were among the 13 states that went unrepresented in showcasing their heritage through a tableau during the Republic Day parade.

"We failed to showcase our culture and heritage during the parade as no one is interested in sending the right kind of proposal to meet the requirement for the selection," said an official.

For this year's Republic Day, the proposed theme of the tableau was stone carving.