'How will Sunil Jakhar face Punjabis now': Bhagwant Mann takes swipe at BJP leader after MoD makes public state tableau design

The fresh attack comes after the tableau design submitted by the Punjab government was made public by the defence ministry and it did not have any photos of the Punjab chief minister and the AAP national convenor

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Sunil Jakhar.

PTI

Chandigarh, January 5

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday accused state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar of lying when he claimed that the AAP government wanted the Punjab tableau for Republic Day parade to carry his and Arvind Kejriwal's photos.

The fresh attack comes after the tableau design submitted by the Punjab government was made public by the defence ministry and it did not have any photos of the Punjab chief minister and the AAP national convenor.

"How will you face Punjabis now?," Mann asked Jakhar in a statement, accusing the BJP leader of putting "his foot in his mouth" and speaking a "naked lie".

Jakhar had last week accused Mann of politicising the non-inclusion of the state's tableau for the Republic Day parade and alleged that the AAP government insisted that the tableau carried his and Kejriwal's photos and this was one of the reasons why it was excluded from the Republic Day event.

"The AAP government was adamant that Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann's photos should be on it, which is not allowed as per protocol. This was one of the reasons for the rejection of the Punjab tableau," Jakhar had said at a press conference here.

Rejecting the charge, Mann said he would quit politics if Jakhar proved his accusation.

Mann, in the statement issued here on Friday, claimed that the "Modi government rejected the tableau of the state because of its anti-Punjab syndrome, but Jakhar was trying to be more loyal than the king by justifying the move of Union government and that too on false ground".

Jakhar misled the people of the state by asserting that the tableau of the state government had Mann's and Kejriwal's pictures, which was just a figment of his imagination, said Mann.

"Unfortunately, newly transformed 'bhakts' like Jakhar are blindly justifying the arbitrary moves of the Modi government by completely ignoring the interests of the state," alleged Mann.

"Now that the Ministry of Defence has made it crystal clear that there were no pictures in the tableau, the lie of Jakhar has been exposed," said Mann.

The chief minister said the tableau showcased the rich cultural heritage of Punjab and the tradition of sacrifice and martyrdom.

The Centre on Sunday rejected as "baseless" Mann's criticism of the BJP-led government for not including the state's tableau in the Republic Day parade 2024 and his allegations of discrimination.

The Ministry of Defence had a few days ago issued a statement saying tableaux proposals from states and Union territories and central ministries or departments are evaluated by an "expert committee" comprising eminent persons in the fields of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture and choreography among others.

"The tableau proposal of Punjab was considered in the first three rounds of meeting 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 to the broader themes of this year's tableau," it had said.