“Senseless”: India rejects Chinese attempts to ‘rename’ places in Arunachal Pradesh
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A day after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar pooh poohed China for ‘renaming’ 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh, the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday firmly rejected such attempts as “senseless” and asserted that assigning “invented names” will not alter the reality that the northeastern state “is, has been, and will always be” an integral and inalienable part of India.
On Monday, Dr. Jaishankar curtly remarked: “Mai apke ghar ka naam badal dun to woh mera ghar ban jayega kya? (If I rename your house today, will it become mine?)” And that “changing names does not mean anything.”
The MEA’s statement came in response to media queries in the wake of Beijing’s stepped-up assertions in recent weeks to re-emphasize its claim over the Indian state.
“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,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted as saying.
On March 28, India said that Beijing may “repeat its baseless claims” as many times as it wants but that is not going to change New Delhi’s position that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is and will always remain” an integral and inalienable part of the country.
Jaiswal’s comments at the briefing had come days after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian reiterated China’s claim.
