Japanese PM Shinzo Abe-Modi meet at Guwahati deferred: MEA

New Delhi:The summit level meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe scheduled at Guwahati on December 15-16 has been deferred.

"With reference to the proposed visit of Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to India, both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.Japanese Prime Minister Abe was scheduled to attend an annual summit with Mr Modi in Guwahati which has witnessed large scale violent protests over the passage of controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill and imposition of curfew in the city. 

Replying to queries if the venue of the summit would be shifted, the External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson has said on Thursday - ``No updates at this stage"  to share.  

The two leaders were also scheduled to visit the India Peace Memorial in Bishnupur town in Manipur to pay tributes to Japanese soldiers who had laid down their lives during World War II.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen also cancelled his visit to India amidst fierce protests in the North-East against the Citizenship Amendment Bill that seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mr Raveesh Kumar told journalists at the weekly media briefing on Thursday that there seemed to be some confusion over reported comments of Bangladesh Foreign Minister.

"There seems to be some confusion. We have explained that religious persecution are not happening under the present government in Bangladesh. Migrants who have sought refuge in India from Bangladesh have faced persecution and abuse on religious grounds during earlier military regimes in Bangladesh,'' he has said.(UNI)