Zeal on Donald's Trump's Republic Day trip misfires

US President Donald Trump is understating the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to be the guest of the Republic Day Parade, an invitation to visit the White House without using the usual diplomatic channels.

There was never any official confirmation from the external affairs ministry or the US embassy in New Delhi about the invitation. It was not going to be there, but it would not be coming.

The sources told Vijay Gokhale when he visited Washington in early August to prepare for the two-postponed Two-plus-Two dialogue at the defense and foreign ministers' level in India a month later.

In July, media reports had said that Modi had invited Trump in April for the 2019 Republic Day, which will be this government's last.

In August, before Gokhale 's trip, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in reply to a question on the Republic Day: "I know that the invitation has been extended, but I do not believe in the final decision has been made.

In the three months since the news broke about the invites, the foreign ministry has remained tight-lipped, lending credence to speculation that the date-specific invitation to one of what form junior foreign affairs minister Shashi Tharoor has described as Modi's "on the hoof" moves in his just-released book The Paradoxical Prime Minister.

Trump is the second US President to be invited to the Republic Day parade under this government's watch. In 2015 – Modi's first Republic Day as Prime Minister – Trump's predecessor Barack Obama was the chief guest.

Another POTUS at Vijay Chowk is the kind of high-on-optics event.

While the annual State of the Union is being cited by the United States, it is likely that the White House would be taken into account. duck blade "phase of his premiership.