The Quad summit that India had planned to host in the final week of January of next year has been postponed, according to government sources. This effectively confirms that President Joe Biden has declined India's invitation to celebrate Republic Day on January 26. The dates under consideration didn't work with all of the Quad partners.
India had sought to time the summit with Republic Day by proposing to host it on January 27, hoping President Joe Biden would find it more worthwhile to visit India as chief guest for the parade if the Quad summit, with its substantive agenda, also took place during his stay in India. This was the third time in 10 years that the Indian government had invited a US President for the Republic Day parade. While President Obama became the first US President to attend the parade in 2015, his successor Donald Trump declined the same invite four years later because of “scheduling constraints”.
Unlike in the case of Trump, Biden will not be able to make it at a time the normally robust partnership is witnessing rare discord over the foiled plot allegedly masterminded by an Indian official to assassinate Khalistan leader and US national Gurpatwant Pannun.
Though India has taken the US allegations seriously, claiming they have an impact on its own security, and has established an inquiry committee to look into the matter, the conflict with the US hasn't turned into an ugly and public diplomatic spat, unlike the case with Canada, which has also alleged Indian involvement in the killing of a Khalistan activist.