Arunachal Pradesh: CM Pema Khandu criticizes China’s renaming as ‘gimmick’

Sentinel Digital Desk

Published:2nd Apr, 2024 at 12:23 PM

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has described China’s renaming places action as another deceptive move called it as “another gimmick from China”.

Taking to X, the CM wrote: “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.”

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also strongly opposed China for renaming several areas in Arunachal Pradesh. He stated that China’s unfound claims will not alter the actual situation on the ground.

“I strongly condemn China’s illegally ‘standardised’ geographical names given to 30 places inside Arunachal Pradesh. China has been making all baseless claims but that’s not going to change the ground reality and the ‘historical facts,” he wrote on X.

Rijiju further added, “Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India, and the people of Arunachal Pradesh are supremely patriotic Indians by all standards & definitions.”

Meanwhile, Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), restated India’s firm rejection of such actions.

He said, “China continues its pointless efforts to rename places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. We strongly oppose these efforts. Giving made-up names will not change the fact that Arunachal Pradesh is, has always been, and will always be an integral and inseparable part of India.”

China has given new names to 11 residential areas, 12 mountains, four rivers, one lake, one mountain pass, and a piece of land. These names include Chinese characters, Tibetan, and pinyin, which is the Roman alphabet version of Mandarin Chinese.

The ministry also provided detailed latitude and longitude coordinates along with a high-resolution map.

India has consistently rejected China’s attempts to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. India maintains that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country, and renaming places with news names does not change this fact.