Shocked by Centre's move to reject Netaji tableau from R-day parade: Mamata

Kolkata: Expressing shock over Centre's rejection of the proposed tableau of Bengal government from the ensuing Republic Day parade, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to reconsider the decision and include the tableau of freedom fighters from West Bengal in the parade.

Banerjee stated in her letter that she was hurt at the abrupt exclusion of the tableau that was commemorating the contributions of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his INA on the 125th birth anniversary and was carrying portraits of the most illustrious sons and daughters of the country.

"It is even more baffling for us that the tableau was rejected without assigning any reasons or justifications. The proposed tableau was commemorating the contributions of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his INA on his 125th birth anniversary year and was carrying portraits of some of the most illustrious sons and daughters of this country — Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Sri Aurobindo, Matangini Hazra, Nazrul, Birsa Munda, and many patriots," she wrote.

The chief minister reiterated that the people of West Bengal are deeply pained by this attitude of the central government as Bengal had been at the forefront of the Indian Freedom Struggle and has paid the heaviest price for the country's independence through Partition and uprooting of millions of people.

"It is shocking to find that this contribution of its valiant freedom fighters finds no place in the nation's ceremony to celebrate the occasion of the Republic Day on the 75th year of our Independence," she wrote.

Banerjee in her letter took the names of Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Surendranath Banerjee, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose , Khurdiram Bose, Bagha Jatin, Masterda Surya Sen, Matangini Hazra to name a few and asserted that the exclusion of the tableau amounts to belittling and undermining these freedom fighters.

"I urge you to reconsider the decision and include the tableau of freedom fighters from West Bengal in the Republic Day parade on the 75th year of our Independence. The tableau which showcases the sacrifices and contribution of the lakhs of freedom fighters will be the most befitting way to pay our respect and homage to all those great souls who fought for our freedom," Banerjee added.