India unlikely to have a Chief guest at this years Republic Day parade

New Delhi: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who was supposed to take part in the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 as a chief guest cancelled his visit to India in the light of the fresh lockdown in his country.

Johnson spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 5 to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India as planned earlier. The cancellation of his visit has been cited to the lockdown imposed in UK after a new mutant coronavirus strain was detected in the country.

Usually official invitations for such events are sent out by November itself to ensure that the two sides adequate time for scheduling and preparations. As per reports, the possibility of any other foreign leader accepting the invitation at such short notice during the times of pandemic seems doubtful. Also sending an invite after a leader refused to attend the celebrations can be viewed as an undiplomatic gesture.

Notably, the last time that India did not have any head of state or government as chief guest for its Republic Day parade was in the year 1966.