This is the 4th time in history that no foreign guest will be present on Republic Day. The previous times it happened were in 1966, 1953 and 1952.
Due to the COVID pandemic, no foreign guest will be present at India's republic day parade, something that has been one of the highlights of the annual event celebrating the country's diversity at the heart of Delhi.
Announcing the development, Ministry of External Affairs 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"
India had extended an invite to UK PM Boris Johnson to be the guest at the Republic day who had accepted and confirmed that he would be be coming. But earlier this month he had informed the Indian PM of his inability to come due to the new strain of covid virus that had emerged in the UK.
This is the 4th time in history that no foreign guest will be present on Republic Day. The last time it had happened was in the year 1966, and before that in 1953 and 1952.
The choice of the Republic Day guest showcases New Delhi's closeness with the country. Indian PM Modi had invited US President Barack Obama as the chief guest in 2015, which sent the message of growing ties Delhi Washington partnership. In 2018, all members of the ASEAN grouping were invited, creating history since never before 10 heads of govt/states were present at the parade together.
Johnson had on January 4 ordered England into a new national lockdown to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm parts of the health system before a vaccine programme reaches a critical mass.
The announcement came just hours after the government hailed Britain's success in becoming the first country to begin rolling out the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca against COVID-19.
Johnson said a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom and now present in many other countries was spreading at great speed and immediate action was needed to slow it down.
"As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than any time since the start of the pandemic," Johnson said in a televised address to the country.
"With most of the country already under extreme measures, it's clear that we need to do more together to bring this new variant under control," he said.
"We must therefore go into a national lockdown, which is tough enough to contain this variant. That means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home."
Non-essential shops and hospitality would have to remain closed, while primary and secondary schools would close from Tuesday for all pupils except vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers.
(With Reuters inputs)
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