First in 55 Years- India to Celebrate Republic Day 2021 Without Chief Guest

NEW DELHI: Amid the new stain of COVID-19, this time the Republic Day parade in New Delhi will witness no foreign guest for the first time in 55 years.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "Due to the global COVID-19 situation, it has been decided that this year there will not be a foreign head of state or head of govt as the chief guest at our Republic Day event."

Further, due to the ongoing Covid protocols, the spectator strength has also been brought down from 1,15,000 to 25,000 and children below the age of 15 will not be allowed entry. The number of cultural programmes has also been cut down.

Earlier this month, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called PM Narendra Modi to express regret that he had to call off his India visit for Republic Day celebrations on January 26 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic situation of the United Kingdom, which is under the grip of a new variant.

As per the British prime minister's office, Johnson expressed his regret for not being able to visit India and asserted that in order to focus on the domestic response of the virus it is crucial that he stays in the country.

The press release from the UK's prime minister's office said, "He hopes to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, and ahead of the UK's G7 Summit that Prime Minister Modi is due to attend as a guest."

During the call, the leaders also talked about their "shared commitment to the bilateral relationship" and will continue to develop the close association between the countries including the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK prime minister's post-Brexit visit to India was scheduled for January 26, as the chief guest at the annual Republic Day celebrations.

This is the fourth time in India's Republic Day parade history that no foreign guest will be present at the Republic Day. The last time it had happened was in 1966- after the death of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the death of famous scientist Homi Bhaba, and before that in 1953 and 1952.

Meanwhile, the then Indonesian President Sukarno was the first chief guest to grace Republic Day in 1950.

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