Prime Minister Narender Modi will not attend the inauguration ceremony of the upcoming Khelo India Games from January 10, amid fierce protests in Assam over the Guwahati Citizenship Amendment Act. However, it is also believed that the PM’s Assam tour has been canceled in view of the All Students Union (AASU) warning leading the protest against the Act
According to the report of Indian Express, it has been told by Khelo India Games organizers that the Prime Minister is not coming to this program. Khelo India CEO Avinash Joshi told Indian Express that they had invited the Prime Minister and so far PM presence is not confirmed. Joshi added that unofficially they have been told the PM Modi will not be participating in the event.
On the other hand, the Assam BJP spokesperson Dewan Dhruba has said that the PM’s visit has been canceled as he does not have time. Dhruba said that the state government approached him, but he could not take out time from his busy schedule. At the same time, another state spokesperson of the party Rupam Goswami said that an invitation was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office to invite Modi to inaugurate the ‘Khelo India Youth Games’. When asked if Modi had canceled his visit to Assam, he said that there was no such conversation that the Prime Minister was coming to Guwahati to inaugurate Khelo India.
Goswami said that sending an invitation to the Prime Minister was a formality. We have not received any information regarding our invitation from the PMO. At the same time, the state finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma denied any such program of PM. He said, “We had not received any program of the Prime Minister. So when the tour was not scheduled earlier, how can it be canceled?”
It is to be noted that large-scale protests are taking place in Assam regarding the new citizenship law. The protests began in October after Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Northeast, which intensified after the legislation was passed in Parliament in December. 6 people were also killed in these demonstrations, out of which four were allegedly shot by the police.
