Union Home Minister Amit Shah Monday said no one can encroach even an inch of India’s land amidst China taking strong exception to his visit to last village Kibithoo in Anjaw district close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh.
Amit Shah launched vibrant village programme from Kibithoo to improve infrastructure in the bordering areas and offer livelihood to residents. By way of that, the Centre believes villagers can be held back in their native places which many have abandoned for want of subsistence.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said in Beijing that they firmly oppose Shah’s visit to the North-Eastern State which they believe violated their territorial integrity and was not conducive to border talks. Wang Wenbin, responding to a query on Union Home Minister’s Monday visit, claimed, “Zangnan (Chinese name of Arunachal Pradesh) is China’s territory”.
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“The Indian official’s visit to Zangnan violates China’s territorial sovereignty, and is not conducive to the peace and tranquillity of the border situation,” the spokesperson stated. China has been opposing official visit of Central government Ministers to the bordering States.
Last Sunday, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs came up with what it calls standardised names for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which was renaming of areas to support its expansionist designs.
Union Minister in his public address said the era when anyone could encroach on India’s land is over and no one can dare to eye its border due to high level of alertness of Army and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) -- one of the central armed police force that guards border with China. “The era is gone when anyone could encroach on our lands. Now, not even land equal to ‘sui ki nook’ (inch of land) can be encroached...,” the minister said.
The Central government has allocated ₹4,800 crore, which would partly be funded by States too, to make villages vibrant by having better roads and other facilities, and offering livelihood opportunities.