New Delhi, April 12: Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inseparable part of India. Any objection to it will not change the reality on the ground,” India told China as a response to that country’s objection over the visit of Home Minister Amit Shah to the North-Eastern state on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said India completely and totally rejects the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India,” Bagchi added.
Amit Shah visited Arunachal Pradesh and launched ‘Vibrant Villages Programme” from Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border and India’s Eastern-most place. Addressing a gathereing, Shah, in a clear message to China, said no one can dare cast an evil eye on India’s territorial integrity and encroach even an “inch of our land”
“Times when anyone could encroach on Indian land have passed. No one can question India’s territorial integrity. Nobody can take even an inch of our land,” he repeated.
It may be recalled that last week, China “renamed” some places in Arunachal Pradesh that it claims as part of its territory. This is the third time that China has ‘renamed’ places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls “Zangnan”, the Southern-part of Tibet.
India had rejected this claim too and had issued a statement to that effect. “We have seen such reports in the past. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter the reality on the ground,” the MEA statement had said.
The eleven places renamed include five mountain peaks, two residential areas, two land areas and two rivers. However, the claimed geographical area has always been controlled and administered by India. China, on the other hand, claims that its attempt to rename certain places ‘standardised geographical names’
Amit Shah’s visit Arunachal Pradesh just two days after the ‘naming ceremony’ by China is seen as sending a ‘robust and vibrant’ message to China.
EOM.
