Bengaluru, Jan 9: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday hit out at the Centre for denying the state an opportunity to take part in the tableau presentation during the Republic Day parade.
The Chief Minister said the Centre denied Karnataka a tableau because there is a Congress government in the state.
According to him, the proposals for tableaux included showcasing the life of Mysuru ruler Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, Kittur Rani Chennamma who fought against the British like Jhansi Rani Lakshmi Bai and Bengaluru founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda.
"The central government has insulted the seven crore Kannadigas by denying the opportunity for the state's tableau at the Republic Day parade to be held in New Delhi on January 26," Siddaramaiah said on social media platform X.
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The chief minister recalled that Karnataka faced a similar situation last year as well, when the state's tableau was initially rejected but later permitted keeping Karnataka elections in mind.
"This time, the central government has again continued its trend of insulting Kannadigas," he charged.
Several tableau proposals were sent from Karnataka, but unfortunately the central government has rejected all these proposals, Siddaramaiah rued.
"We had conceptualised the tableau of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar to depict his immense contributions to democracy and development of our state. We had also sent proposals to depict the contributions of Kittur Rani Chennamma and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda too along with the proposals to showcase Karnataka's rich heritage and Brand Bengaluru," the chief minister explained.
"However, the central committee rejected our request, depriving us of the opportunity to introduce the nation to our state's immense achievements and exemplary figures," he alleged.
The fact that the Congress government is in power in the state seems to be a factor of concern for the BJP-led central government, the chief minister said adding that, from devolution of tax to the injustice in drought relief, to the sale of banks, ports, and airports built by Kannadigas, the Centre is constantly attacking the people of the state with political malice.
"Now, by denying the state the opportunity in the tableau presentation, it has attacked our identity again," Siddaramaiah alleged.
"It is unfortunate that the MPs of @BJP4Karnataka are not questioning this injustice. They have become puppets of Narendra Modi. To whom are they loyal? Kannadigas or Narendra Modi?" he asked on 'X'.
Stating that Kannadigas are already enraged by the continuous injustice from the Centre towards Kannada and Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said the central government should not test their patience.
"It is not too late yet, the Central Government should immediately correct its mistake and rectify the injustice done to Karnataka by allowing us to participate in the tableau presentation at the prestigious Republic Day parade," the chief minister demanded.
The Central Government has insulted the seven crore Kannadigas by denying the opportunity for the state's tableau at the Republic Day parade to be held in New Delhi on January 26th. Karnataka faced similar situation even last year as our state’s tableau was initially rejected.…
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 9, 2024
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Dharamsala (PTI): The countdown to save his place in the playing XI begins for a beleaguered Shubman Gill, who is likely to get three matches against South Africa to prove his worth before the Indian team management switches to a ‘Plan B’ ahead of the T20 World Cup, starting in six weeks.
As India gear up to play the third T20I against the Proteas on Sunday in sub-10-degree temperatures in the lap of the ice-clad Dhauladhar range, things are suddenly heating up in the Indian dressing room, with the prolonged poor form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav coming under the scanner.
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Worse, his deputy Shubman Gill, who was pushed into the XI at the expense of a settled Sanju Samson, is not inspiring much confidence.
The South African pace attack featuring Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Ottniel Baartman and Lutho Sipamla — has shown how to bowl on Indian tracks, and the HPCA Stadium strip, offering extra bounce and some movement off the surface, will certainly keep them interested.
Among all T20 sides, South Africa, in terms of personnel, appears to have the requisite balance to win the trophy in the Indian subcontinent this time. Quinton de Kock’s return, along with the likes of Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Donovan Ferreira, David Miller and all-rounder Jansen, gives their batting an intimidating look.
With only eight games, starting from the third T20I, left before the start of the T20 World Cup title defence, India's under-fire head coach Gautam Gambhir won't be able to afford, two out-of-form top-order batters in the starting line-up.
Being the skipper of the side, Surya will certainly have immunity going into the T20 World Cup despite being completely out of form for the past one year but same can't be said about Gill, who wasn't the original choice as an opener.
Gill's entry into the T20 set-up was a classic case of trying to fix something that ain't broken and things haven't looked good so far.
In this backdrop, Gill would need to bat out of his skin to prove that Ajit Agarkar-led committee wasn't wrong in throwing Samson under the bus for one bad series against England.
The stylish Indian Test and ODI skipper will have to find his T20 game and at least score in two of the three matches if he doesn't want Samson to get his rightful place back or for that matter, find Yashasvi Jaiswal, with a fabulous T20I strike-rate of 165, enter the fray during New Zealand series.
Lack of clarity
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While head coach Gambhir is too proud a person to admit but sending Axar Patel as a one drop batter during the second T20I was a "tactical brain fade" from the team's think-tank.
The kind misstep that was taken with Axar's promotion is unlikely to be repeated in the third game where skipper is expected to go back to No.3 where he has got a lot of success in his first few years at the international level.
Similarly, Shivam Dube being sent at number eight due to the shuffling of batting order was another poor call which would need course correction in the next game.
Is there a place for Kuldeep Yadav?
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Kuldeep Yadav is one bowler who has consistently troubled the Proteas batter but in an Indian team where batting till No. 8 is non-negotiable, the left-arm wrist spinner often finds himself getting the rough end of the stick.
At Dharamsala too, he might have to sit out as Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy, two non-batters can't be clubbed in the same T20 playing eleven as that would lead to compromise in batting depth.
While Arshdeep hasn't had a good series so far, it will be interesting to find if team management can find a place for Kuldeep in the playing eleven with Hardik Pandya sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah.
The five-match series is currently tied 1-1.
Teams:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, NT Tilak Verma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Ottniel Baartman, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde.
Match Starts at 7 pm.
