India has decided to go ahead with the Republic Day celebrations without any foreign chief guest this year after the United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit at the last minute due to the spread of mutant Covid-19 in the UK, Hindustan Times (HT) reported.
This would be the first occasion in the last five decades when India will not have a foreign dignitary as the chief guest.
Multiple reasons were kept in mind while making the decision. UK PM Boris Johnson had accepted India's invitation publicly but later on expressed his inability to attend the event in wake of pandemic situations in the UK, an official told HT.
According to the official, they didn't want to put any foreign dignitary in an awkward situation by sending them an invitation at the last minute as the acceptance of invitation at this moment would bring embarrassment for the invitee back home as they would be seen as a replacement.
1966 was the last time when there was no foreign guest at the Republic Day ceremony as after the demise of former Indian Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri on January 11, Indira Gandhi was sworn in as prime minister on January 24 that year. 1952 and 1953 were the other years when India did not have any chief guest for the occasion.
India is going to celebrate its 72nd Republic Day this year. This year the parade will end at National Stadium in Delhi rather than Red Fort as it will be shorter than earlier.
