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 government as the chief guest, Foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.The last time India did not have a chief guest at its Republic Day parade was in 1966
Updated: Jan 14, 2021, 04:41 PM IST
Due to coronavirus, this year s Republic Day Parade will be a little out of the ordinary. The NSG, the elite force of India for counter-terror operations, has decided to make changes for the parade as per the COVID-19 health protocols.
Earlier, the NSG commandos marched down Rajpath shoulder-to-shoulder, but this time they wil be marching with a distance of more than 1.5 metres from each other as per the COVID-19 protocols.
Almost 40 percent of the actual strength of the commandos will participate in the Republic Day Parade as compared to the previous year. A bunch of commandos along with senior Indian Army and Paramilitary officers reach Rajpath at 5 am in the morning every day and practice till 10 am.
First time in 55 years possibility of no chief guest on Republic Day
Last time the parade did not have chief guest was in 1966 when Indira Gandhi was sworn in as PM on January 24 after the demise of Lal Bahadur Shastri. (Image Source: Twitter/@BorisJohnson
Updated: Jan 13, 2021, 06:32 AM IST
Weeks ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, with the cancellation of the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson s visit, it may be the first time in 55 years that India is unlikely to have any chief guest for the Republic Day parade. Boris Johnson s decision comes amid the spread of the new, more contagious mutant strain of the novel coronavirus.