The valour of army and ITBP personnel ensures that no one can encroach even an inch of India’s land, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday. The minister, who is on a two-day visit to the state amid stiff opposition from Beijing, launched the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ (VVP) in Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border.
“The era is gone when anyone could encroach on our lands. Now, not even land equal to ‘sui ki noke’ (inch of land) can be encroached…,” the minister said. Pointing to the infrastructure and other development works carried out in the Northeast, Shah said the border areas were the top priority of the Narendra Modi government.
“Before 2014, the entire Northeast region was known as a disturbed region. But in the last 9 years, because of PM Modi’s ‘Look East’ policy, Northeast is now considered an area which contributes to the development of the country,” he said. Shah payed tribute the martyrs of 1962 war and said they fought with indomitable spirit despite the lack of resources.
“Earlier, people who returned from border areas used to say that they have visited the last village of India but the Modi government has changed this narrative with people now saying that they have visited the first village of India,” he said.
Meanwhile, China has strongly opposed Shah’s visit to Arunachal saying his activities in the area was violating Beijing’s territorial sovereignty. “The Indian official’s visit to Zangnan violates China’s territorial sovereignty, and is not conducive to the peace and tranquility of the border situation,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.
China had recently renamed 11 places in Arunachal in an attempt to assert its claim over the Indian state. India outrightly rejected Beijing’s renaming exercise, asserting that the state is an integral part of India and assigning “invented” names does not alter this reality.
“We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
