New Delhi: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday he could cancel his visit to India due to the raging bushfires in his country, reported Reuters.
Morrison said he was “inclined not to proceed” with his visit to India, when asked by reporters if it was appropriate for him to leave the country during the national crisis.
The Australian Prime Minister is scheduled to visit India from 13-16 January at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation, and this is supposed to be his maiden visit to the country since coming to power in August 2018.
Besides New Delhi, Morrison is also slated to visit Mumbai and Bengaluru.
“My visit will be another step in cementing India in the top tier of Australia’s partnerships,” said Morrison at a major foreign policy address in Sydney in October last year, when the visit was being finalised.
Morrison is also expected to be the chief guest at the upcoming Raisina Dialogue, which will be held from January 14-16, organised by the ORF in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.
Morrison, however, did not mention if he will also cancel his visit to Japan, which is scheduled from January 16-17.
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Morrison and Modi
Morrison and PM Narendra Modi met for the first time in Osaka, during the G20 summit last year and instantly hit it off.
Morrison even took a selfie with Modi, and posted it with a caption that said, “Kithana acha he Modi!”
Kithana acha he Modi! #G20OsakaSummit pic.twitter.com/BC6DyuX4lf
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) June 28, 2019
The Indian PM, in turn, referred to him as “mate”.
Mate, I’m stoked about the energy of our bilateral relationship! @ScottMorrisonMP https://t.co/RdvaWsqlwY
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 29, 2019
Since September last year, at least 17 people have been killed and over 1,500 homes were destroyed by bushfires in Australia. At least 28 people are confirmed missing after bushfires tore through busy tourist hubs in eastern Victoria at the turn of the new year.
Also read: Australian PM to bring back ancient Indian artefacts when he visits Delhi next year
Australian bush fires are prominent headlines in the Western media, and all reporting the way Morrison is mishandling the crises. The criticism is heavy,
Australian democracy is robust. When the PM visited families that had lost almost everything in the fires, he was treated to their emotions. Raw, very raw, as he described it.
It is not democracy, it is called LOW ‘power distance’ (LPD) which is a cultural trait of most Western societies. Recommend read Geert Hofstede’s seminal model on Cultural Dimensions. Most oriental, middle-eastern and many Latin American societies suffer from HIGH power distance, which in character is mostly feudalistic, zamindari, mai-baap, thakur-dalit. The less powerful and wealthy must show deference to the ones with more power and wealth. Modi, Sonia, Mamta, Pawar, Thackeray form the apex of this power hierarchy. No individual can dare NOT question them openly in public.