Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday questioned whether India should have Republic Day celebrations altogether owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit to India. The latter was supposed to the chief guest for the festivities set to take place on January 26.
Referring to the British leader cancelling his visit due to ‘COVID-19 second wave’, Tharoor said, “why not go one step farther & cancel the festivities altogether? Getting crowds to cheer the parade as usual would be irresponsible.”
Johnson on Tuesday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his regret over not being able to visit India as planned for the Republic Day due to the growing health crisis created by the new variant of coronavirus in the UK. Johnson's call with Modi came a day after he addressed the nation in a televised address to plunge the country into a new stay-at-home lockdown as his medical chiefs warned that the National Health Service (NHS) was under threat of being overwhelmed by the rising infection rates.
Johnson has indicated that his India visit would take place during the first half of this year and before the G7 Summit presided over by the UK, planned for later this year.
"The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the Prime Minister said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus, the spokesperson said.
The two leaders underlined their "shared commitment" to the bilateral relationship, and to continuing to build on the close collaboration between India and the UK including in response to the pandemic. Johnson said that 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, the spokesperson said.
Johnson had accepted Modi's invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on January 26 last month. While accepting Modi's invitation, Johnson had extended an invite to the Indian Prime Minister to attend the UK's G7 Summit as one of three guest nations alongside South Korea and Australia with a focus on his declared ambition to work with a group of like-minded democracies to advance shared interests and tackle common challenges.
At least 58 people have tested positive for the new variant of the coronavirus from the UK in India, as per the Union Health Ministry’s numbers on Monday.