UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was going to be the Chief Guest for the 2021 Republic Day celebrations, however, his visit was canceled in view of the grim coronavirus situation back home. Now, a post has surfaced on social media claiming that Suriname's president Chadrikapersad Santokhi will be the chief guest for this year's Republic Day. 

One such image was shared by a Facebook user which has 'On the occasion of Republic Day 2021, President of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi will be the chief guest' written on it in Hindi. 

Several Twitter users are also making a similar claim. 

However, in our investigation, we found this claim to be false. There will not be any foreign chief guest for this year's Republic Day parade.

According to a Hindustan Times report, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a news briefing on January 14, "Due to the global Covid-19 situation, it has been decided that this year, there will not be a foreign head of state or head of government as the chief guest for our Republic Day event."

The reports also add that it will be the first time in 55 years that Republic Day will not see an official chief guest. The last time this happened was in 1966 when Indira Gandhi took over the prime minister's position in January after the death of then prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Shastri breathed his last on January 11 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then Soviet Union).

We also found press releases of the Ministry of External Affairs which stated that the president of the Republic of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi would deliver a keynote address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention on January 9, 2021, as its chief guest.

In conclusion, the claim that Suriname's president Chadrikapersad Santokhi will be the chief guest for this year's Republic Day is false. It will be the first time in 55 years that Republic Day will not see an official chief guest due to the Coronavirus pandemic.