Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that there is a well-established system for the selection of Republic Day tableaux.m

Singh said in Rajya Sabha that the proposals from various states and Union Territories for tableaux at the Republic Day parade are evaluated by an expert committee comprising eminent persons.

He was replying to a question on whether a number of tableaux of various state governments were disallowed for the Republic Day parade last year.

"There is a well-established system for selection of tableaux for participation in the Republic Day parade," the defence minister said.

"The tableaux proposals received from various States / UTs are evaluated in a series of meetings of the expert committee comprising of eminent persons in the field of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography etc," he added.

He said the expert committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and visual impact before making its recommendations. "Due to time allotted for tableaux in the overall duration of the parade, shortlisting of tableaux is done by the expert committee," Singh said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had expressed their disappointment over the exclusion of the respective tableau of the two states from this year's Republic Day parade.

Singh said applications from 27 states and Union Territories for tableaux were received for the Republic Day parade in 2021 out of which 17 were selected. The list of selected tableaux for the Republic Day parade in 2021 included West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

To a separate question, he said the government has not cancelled any deal for the purchase of short-range surface-to-air missiles or the purchase of choppers for the Indian Coast Guard.