Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly giving a “clean chit to China” as Beijing renamed 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims as South Tibet.
Claiming that Arunachal Pradesh is and will remain an integral part of India, Kharge said this was for the third time, China has dared to “rename” India's areas in Arunachal Pradesh.
"For the third time, China has dared to "rename" our areas in Arunachal Pradesh.
April 21, 2017 — 6 places
30 December 2021 — 15 places
3 April 2023 — 11 places
Arunachal Pradesh is and will remain an integral part of India. After Galvan, the country is facing the consequences of Modi ji giving a clean chit to China," Kharge tweeted.
India has rejected China’s move, with the external affairs ministry saying such steps will not alter the reality that the northeastern state is an integral part of the country.
{{/usCountry}}India has rejected China’s move, with the external affairs ministry saying such steps will not alter the reality that the northeastern state is an integral part of the country.
{{/usCountry}}The move is set to further deepen mistrust between New Delhi and Beijing at a time when the two are in the middle of their worst bilateral chill in decades.
The changed names include that of mountain peaks, rivers and residential areas.
This is the third time China has unilaterally renamed places in Arunachal Pradesh, having done it in April, 2017, and in December 2021.
There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the development. People familiar with the matter said the Indian side was aware of the development, which was a continuation of similar steps taken by China in recent years.
The renaming in the past too was promptly rejected by India, with New Delhi reiterating that the northeastern state will always remain an integral and “inseparable” part of India.
“According to the relevant regulations of the State Council (China’s cabinet) on the management of geographical names, our ministry, together with relevant departments, has standardised some geographical names in southern Tibet,” China’s civil affairs ministry said in a short statement on Sunday.