NEW DELHI: The violent protests in Assam against the Citizenship Bill threatens to cast its shadow on the Narendra Modi- Shinzo Abe summit in Guwahati.
While preparations for the meeting are on, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs said the programme venue was yet to be finalised. “Security agencies will take a final call. They are assessing the situation on the ground,” said a senior MHA official. The official added that the venue can neither be confirmed nor ruled out at the moment.
Last week, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had announced that the summit between Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart will take place between December 15 and 17. Though the government has not announced the venue for the summit, preparations were underway to host it in Guwahati.
Kumar said there has been no update on Japanese PM Abe’s scheduled two-day visit from December 15. “There is no update on the visit. Things stand as they were with regard to the Japanese prime minister’s visit,” he said. Asked if the government was contemplating shifting the venue, Kumar said: “I am not in a position to clarify on it.” Protesters had on Wednesday damaged a gate erected on a road for Abe’s visit. Last year, Japan hosted the summit in Yamanashi prefecture.