Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishes nation on 72nd Republic Day
New Delhi : India is celebrating its 72nd Republic Day today. The Parade at Rajpath will begin at 9 am. With Covid-19 protocols in place and the protesting farmers’ tractor march scheduled in the national capital, Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi will certainly wear a different look on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to wish people on Republic Day on Tuesday. “Wishing all the people of India a Happy #RepublicDay. Jai Hind!” he tweeted.
देशवासियों को गणतंत्र दिवस की ढेरों शुभकामनाएं। जय हिंद!
Wishing all the people of India a Happy #RepublicDay. Jai Hind!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 26, 2021
Greeting the nation on the eve of India’s 72nd Republic Day, President Ram Nath Kovind, in his address, acknowledged the hardships of farmers and Army, who are working towards contributing to food security and border security respectively.
“Every Indian salutes our farmers, who have made our vast and populous country self-reliant in food-grains and dairy products. Despite adversities of nature, numerous other challenges & COVID-19 pandemic, our farmers sustained agricultural production,” President Ram Nath Kovind said.
A total of 32 tableaux, 17 of various states and UTs, nine of ministries and six from the defence arm will be seen going down Rajpath this year. Among these, the tableaux of Ladakh, the Union Territory that was created in 2019 after bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir will be included for the first time. All members of the tableaux contingents from various states, ministries and government departments have undergone Covid testing.
While gravity-defying stunts by motorcycle-borne men will be missing, the spectator size too has been reduced to 25,000 from around 1.25 lakh last year.
The parade of children who receive bravery awards will also be missing. Keeping in mind social distancing, the size of marching contingents has been reduced from 144 to 96.
Delhi Police has granted the farmers, protesting against the three contentious farm laws, permission to carry out a tractor parade on January 26 inside Delhi, but with modifications in their planned route and on the condition that they will start only after the completion of the official parade on Rajpath.
As per the agreement, the farmers will enter Delhi from all the three borders where thousands of them have been camping for the past two months, but stay in the adjoining areas and not venture towards Central Delhi.
