"Inalienable integral part of India": Arunachal CM Pema Khandu on China renaming places in the state

Apr 02, 2024

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], April 2 : Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu slammed China for naming places within his state saying that it is an "inalienable integral part of India."
"Another gimmick from China. Being a proud citizen of Bharat and a native of Arunachal Pradesh, I strongly condemn this act of naming of places within Arunachal Pradesh which has been an inalienable integral part of India. Proud citizens and patriots of Arunachal Pradesh is rejecting such antics," Khandu said, speaking to ANI on Tuesday.
China has recently released a list of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to assert its claim over India's northeastern state. India has been rejecting such renaming of places by China.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday firmly rejected China's attempt to rename several places in Arunachal Pradesh saying assigning invented names will "not alter the reality that the state will always be an integral and inalienable part of India.
"China has persisted with its senseless attempts to rename places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. We firmly reject such attempts. Assigning invented names will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India," External Affairs ministry official spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said in an official statement.
The MEA spokesperson was responding to media queries on renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh by China.
On Monday, EAM S Jaishhankar took a jibe at China over its claims on the state of Arunachal Pradesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that changing names won't have any effect and the northeastern state was, is and will always be India's part.
While addressing a press conference in Gujarat, Jaishankar said, "If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect."
"Our army is deployed at the Line of Actual Control...," the EAM added.
Recently, China again came up with its claim over the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Terming the Indian State as "Zangan--an inherent part of China's territory," the Chinese Defence Ministry said that Beijing "never acknowledges and firmly opposes" the "so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India.
Following this, India once again rejected the "absurd claims" and "baseless arguments" while asserting that the northeastern state is an "integral and inalienable part of India."