India, Japan reassess likelihood of summit in Guwahati

With the protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB) intensifying in and around Guwahati, New Delhi is closely monitoring the situation and is in touch with Tokyo to reassess the feasibility of holding India-Japan annual summit in the northeastern city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the annual India-Japan summit early next week. Though neither New Delhi nor Tokyo has formally confirmed the venue of the summit, Modi has been keen to host Abe in Guwahati – the main city of the north-eastern region of India.

But as the move by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to get the CAB passed by Parliament triggered widespread protests in Guwahati as well as in other areas of Assam, New Delhi and Tokyo are re-evaluating the security situation in the north-eastern city.

The Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of External Affairs are in touch with Embassy of Japan in New Delhi as well as Japanese Government in Tokyo, in order to take a final call on the venue of the summit, sources told the DH.

A billboard displayed in Guwahati to welcome the two Prime Ministers for the summit and a makeshift podium was damaged by the protesters on Wednesday.

With protests against the CAB in the city turning violent, local authorities promulgated curfew from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning.

If the protest against the CAB continues and the security situation in Guwahati worsens, the venue of the summit may be shifted either to New Delhi or any other city, sources said.