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Stressing that the Centre always emphasises ensuring that all the States and Union Territories get equal representation in Republic Day celebrations, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane on Friday said that the government will ensure that the remaining States and UTs also get a chance to take part in the next year's parade.
"All States have equal status as per our Constitution, that is how India is a union with a federal structure, to emphasise that we ensure that all the States and UTs get equal representation in the cycle of 3 years. This year, we have selected 16 States and UTs. Next year, we will ensure that the remaining 14 states and several UTs also get a chance to be represented in the Republic Day parade," the Defence Secretary said. "Year after that, we will ensure that the left-out States from these two years are covered and the new cycle can start. So it is like a rolling plan," he added. The Defence Secretary further stated that several beneficiaries of the government schemes and the achievers in the Self-Help groups (SHGs) are being invited to attend the Republic Day celebrations and they will sit opposite to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "PM Street Vendor's, AtmaNirbhar Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana--there are around 30 such programmes benefiting various cross-sections of the people. They are the people at the grassroots level who represent India, who not only have benefited from the government but also come on top of it. Those are the people we are calling, giving them the main enclosure opposite to the PM. They will watch the parade by sitting opposite PM," the Defence Secretary said. Amid allegations by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann about discrimination over the selection of tableaux for the Republic Day Parade 2024, Defence Ministry sources earlier said that the Punjab tableau did not align to the "broader themes" of this year's tableau. According to the sources, the tableau proposal of Punjab was considered in the first three rounds of meetings of the Expert Committee. After the third round of meetings, the tableau of Punjab could not be taken forward by the Expert Committee for further consideration for not aligning with the broader themes of this year's tableau. Furthermore, as per the MoD sources, West Bengal's sources were also rejected for the same reasons. The Punjab Chief Minister said that, like last year, this year too, Punjab's tableau for January 26 will not be included Chief Minister Mann also claimed that the decision of the centre shows how much "poison" it has in its heart against the people of Punjab. (ANI)
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