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New Delhi
US President Joe Biden will not be coming to India for the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest in January next year, according to multiple reports. The Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited the US leader to partake in the Republic Day celebrations, as part of New Delhi's plans to host the Quad leaders' summit.
Modi had invited Biden during their bilateral meeting on September 8 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti at the time confirmed that PM Modi had indeed extended the invitation.
With Biden expected to miss the event, it is highly unlikely that Quad Summit will go ahead in January. Earlier, New Delhi was looking to schedule the Quad Summit, which groups India, Australia, Japan and the US, on January 27.
According to sources, the Quad Summit is proposed to be held later in 2024 as the current dates do not work with all the Quad partners.
Why is Biden not travelling to India?
Biden skipping the trip to India encapsulates the current relationship between the two nations. Ever since Washington called out New Delhi for attempting to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil, the relations have taken a hit.
The US Justice Department has claimed that an Indian man, identified as Nikhil Gupta, arrested by Czech authorities in June, was behind the plot to kill Pannun. Consequently, the department opened an investigation against him while informing New Delhi.
The insinuation that New Delhi was involved, came hot on the heels of Canada's PM Justin Trudeau making similar claims that India was involved in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Watch | The Pannun Plot: The India-U.S. strategic partnership
While the frosty relations over Pannun might be the reason for Biden's reluctance to travel to New Delhi, the White House is expected to use the State of the Union address that US presidents usually deliver in January, as an excuse for missing the trip.
The last US president to visit India for the January 26 celebrations was Barack Obama who visited in 2015. Speculations are rife that New Delhi might extend the chief guest invitation to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida or Australian PM Anthony Albanese - the other two Quad partners.
(With inputs from agencies)