The design depicted freedom fighters of Tamil Nadu during the British raj in the front and those from the East India Company’s period at the back of the tableau, Stalin said.
Calling the Union government’s decision to reject all the seven designs of Tamil Nadu submitted for the Republic Day parade ‘unacceptable’, Chief Minister MK Stalin has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention on the issue. The letter sent on Monday sought Modi’s intervention to “arrange to include the tableau of Tamil Nadu that will showcase the freedom fighters of the state”.
Stalin’s letter stated that he was “deeply disappointed to know that the state of Tamil Nadu has been deprived of the opportunity to participate” in the Republic Day parade.
The letter said the state representatives appeared before the expert committee for selection for tableaux thrice.
“In the first meeting, the expert committee expressed satisfaction about Tamil Nadu’s theme “Tamil Nadu in the freedom struggle,” the letter said.
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The design submitted by Tamil Nadu had several prominent Tamil freedom fighters including V O Chidambaranar, the freedom fighter who founded the Swadeshi steam navigation company in 1906 during the Indian independence movement and faced sedition charges and was imprisoned, Tamil national poet Subramania Bharathi, who was known for his patriotic songs during the freedom struggle, a statue of Rani Veluyath Nachiyar, the Indian queen who fought the East India company and Marudhupandiyar brothers who helped Nachiyar to win the war against the British.
“Exclusion of the tableau will deeply hurt the sentiments of and patriotic feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu. That the committee chooses to ignore and reject all the seven designs shown to it as per the modification suggested by its members is unacceptable. I am given to understand that Tamil Nadu was not called for the fourth round of meeting and it was informed that the state of Tamil Nadu has been left out while shortlisting,” said Stalin in his letter.
VCK founder Thol Thirumavalavan, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan, and several other DMK leaders have also criticised the Centre for rejecting Tamil Nadu’s proposed tableau for the Republic Day parade.
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