CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday hit out at the BJP-led central government over the non-inclusion of the state's tableau for the Republic Day parade, alleging the Centre has discriminated against the state.

He said that like last year, this year too, Punjab's tableau for the Republic Day parade on January 26 will not be included.

"The Centre has discriminated against Punjab," alleged Mann, adding that both Punjab and Delhi are not on the list whose tableaux have been selected.

Mann was addressing a press conference in Chandigarh after visiting Fatehgarh Sahib.

Mann said they received a letter from the Centre on Wednesday, which shows that Punjab's tableau has not been included.

When asked about the reason for the rejection, Mann said they have only been informed about the list of states whose tableaux have been selected.

"Every year on the occasion of Republic Day, through their tableaux various states showcase their culture and traditions," he said.

He said that this year the Centre had written a letter to the state "asking our willingness regarding the state's tableau.

On August 4, 2023, we wrote a letter of willingness and also mentioned that not just in January 2024, but for 2025 and 2026 also, we expressed our willingness that our tableau be included".

We proposed three tableaux from Punjab for shortlisting and even gave them designs for this, and our officers also held meetings in this regard with the Centre.

"Punjab Kurbaniya ate Shahadatan Da Itihaas, the second tableau proposed was the Nari Shakti -- Mai Bhago, the first lady warrior of Sikhism and the third was Punjab da Ameer Virsa te Odi Peshkari," he said.

Among the selected states include Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Odisha, Manipur, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, Meghalaya, Ladakh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, said Mann.