Arunachal Pradesh is part of India, no country can take that away: Kishan Reddy

The Union minister also said there are some countries who are unhappy with the progress of India in becoming a manufacturing hub

Union minister for development of north eastern region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday affirmed Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country, and that no country can take away any inch of land in India.

Union minister for development of north eastern region G Kishan Reddy. (ANI/ PIB)

“Our army is ready to protect our Indian territory. No other country can take away even an inch of Arunachal Pradesh or any other part of India. China should understand that their attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh will not benefit the two countries,” Reddy told the media persons on the sidelines of a conclave on North-East Security Education and Global Employability organised by the Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) in Agartala.

In a separate reference on the ‘Make in India’ campaign, the minister said there are some countries who are unhappy with the progress of India in becoming a manufacturing hub.

“Our country will soon become a manufacturing hub and will export products abroad,” he said.

Reddy also visited Agartala railway station at Badharghat to review the progress of work on the Agartala-Akhaura international railway connectivity at Nischintapur along the India-Bangladesh international border. He hoped that early completion of the project will boost relations with India’s eastern neighbour.

“The project will make relations between the two countries strong. The DoNER ministry is funding the project from the Indian side. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are likely to launch the project this year,” he said.

The 15-kilometre-long railway line will link Bangladesh’s Akhaura through an international immigration station at Nischintapur along the border. With the completion of the project, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka will be reduced from 31 hours to 10 hours.

Akhaura used to be the railway link for Agartala during the British era, but the new railway project was conceptualised in 2010. Three years later, both India and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding for the project.

The project was supposed to be over in 2020 but got delayed because of land acquisition issues and the Covid-19 pandemic.