Republic Day: No Foreign Dignitary May Be Invited as Guest at This Year's Parade

The central government is unlikely to invite any foreign dignitary as a guest for the Republic Day event this year, according to top government sources.

​Earlier, top premiers from five countries were supposed to come for the event, but given the Covid situation, the government decided not to have any dignitary this year, sources said.

Last year’s Republic Day parade took place amid the Covid pandemic and close to 25,000 people were allowed to attend it, sources mentioned.

Meanwhile, this year, approximately 24,000 people will be permitted to attend the Republic Day parade on January 26 given the COVID-19 situation in the national capital, sources in the defence establishment said on Saturday. In 2020, before the pandemic struck India, around 1.25 lakh people were permitted to attend the parade.

The Gujarat Summit, too, will be held virtually, said sources.

The Delhi Police on Saturday issued a traffic advisory ahead of the Republic Day Parade rehearsal. According to the advisory, the rehearsals shall be held on Raj Path on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from Vijay Chowk to India Gate.

In line with the Modi government’s focus on celebrating/commemorating important aspects of our history and culture, Republic Day Celebrations will now begin every year from January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of Subash Chandra Bose, sources told News 18.

Meanwhile, after getting inputs from multiple agencies on a suspected terror attack, security forces have issued a detailed alert for officers and troops deployed in five poll-bound states and for Republic Day ceremonies in the capital and other parts of the country.

Sources aware about the development said that a detailed copy compiling the information and inputs has been shared with security forces who have been asked to prepare their troops accordingly.

According to the alert, terrorists may be planning attacks or explosions to target high-profile leaders and security forces campuses, apart from crowded places and markets.

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