"Pics Of Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann Real Reason": BJP On AAP's Allegations Of Rejecting Punjab's Tableau For Republic Day

On Friday (29 December), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) refuted the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) accusation of 'dirty politics' regarding the Centre's rejection of Punjab's tableau for the Republic Day parade. The BJP asserted that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was "blatantly lying" about the issue.

Following Mann's accusation that the BJP-led Central government was biased against Punjab, the party clarified today that the actual reason for the tableau's rejection was because it featured photographs of the chief minister and Arvind Kejriwal.

"The real reason for rejection of Punjab Tableau is that it prominently showed pics of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann rather than Mai Bhago Ji or martyrs! Mann Sahab is shamelessly lying; and worst is he has surrendered Punjab’s sovereignty in the feet of Kejriwal. You made Punjab the slave of Kejriwal in the name of change," Delhi BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

The AAP leveled accusations against the Centre on Thursday, alleging that they did not provide any justification for the exclusion of Punjab's tableau.

"The exclusion of Delhi and Punjab's tableaux from the Republic Day parade is indicative of the BJP's underhanded politics," stated AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar on Friday. She noted that BJP-governed states such as Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are repeatedly given the chance to present their tableaux in the parade, while Delhi and Punjab, similar to previous occasions, have been overlooked once again.

"The Delhi government had the intention of featuring their health and education models in the Republic Day parade to highlight the significant transformations these models have brought about in Delhi over the recent years. Regrettably, they were not granted permission to do so," she added.

On Wednesday, Mann stated that the government intended to remove the word Punjab from the national anthem.

He expressed to reporters in Chandigarh that if they are allowed to do as they please, they will remove the word 'Punjab' from the national anthem.

Bansuri Swaraj, the Delhi BJP secretary, stated that the decision on the tableaux proposals is made by a committee of specialists. She suggested that the AAP was concealing the true cause for the dismissal of their tableaux proposals.

She expressed disappointment, stating it was regrettable that the AAP leaders are turning the specialist committee's decision to reject their tableaux proposals into a political issue, without revealing the reasons for rejection.

Swaraj accused the AAP administrations of only producing tales of a liquor scandal, counterfeit medication racket, bungalow fraud, drug dealing in Punjab, and their ministers being imprisoned.