Subramanian Swamy urges PM Modi to cancel Republic Day parade; cites relief for UK PM too

Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel the Republic Day parade this year, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has quoted media reports and stated that 150 Army jawans have contracted Coronavirus during rehearsal. Swamy has said that such incidents are tragic and added that it will be a relief to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he would not be required to leave London during the Brexit process. 

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Earlier, a day after a new mutation of the COVID-19 virus was found in the UK, the Opposition parties demanded a complete ban on flights from the United Kingdom. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that the Government of India should take immediate steps by banning flights to and from UK in order to prevent the new strain of virus transmission in India.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Wednesday extended the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights till 11.59 pm on January 31, 2021. This restriction will not apply to international cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. As per the circular, international flights might be allowed by the competent authority on selected routes - which is the ongoing process of 'air bubbles'. The Centre has extended the suspension of flights to/from the UK till January 7, 2021.

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UK PM Chief Guest for Republic Day event

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is all set to be the chief guest for Republic Day event on January 26. British Foreign secretary Dominic Raab on December 15 following the bilateral talks with Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar at New Delhi said that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “very generous invitation” to attend nation’s Republic Day celebration. In a joint conference after the meet, Raab confirmed Johnson’s presence in India’s celebration on January 26, 2021, and being the Republic Day Chief Guest. He also denoted it as a “great honour”.  

Republic Day Parade Amid Covid

The Republic Day Parade 2021 will witness major changes due to Covid-19 pandemic. The changed format finalised by the Ministry of Defence includes reduction of distance covered by the parade from  8.5 km to 3.5 Km. The parade that ends  at National Stadium, will culminate at the Red Fort this year. The reduction in the distance is the outcome of the decision to maintain social distancing between the marching contingents. The number of individuals in also cut short to 96 members in place of 144 members in each contingent. The size of the contingents has been reformulated to 12×8 in place of usual 12×12 rows and columns. The spectators will also be seated according to the social distancing protocols and will be wearing masks at all times. This year the spectator strength has also been drastically cut down from 1,15,000 to 25,000

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