NEW DELHI: The Congress took strong objection on Tuesday to China renaming several places in Arunachal Pradesh and said it is the result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "clean chit" to the neighbouring country and his "eloquent silence" on Chinese actions at the border.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the country continues to face the consequences of Modi's clean chit to China.
"For the third time, China has dared to rename our areas in Arunachal Pradesh. April 21, 2017 -- 6 places, December 30, 2021 -- 15 places, April 3, 2023 -- 11 places. Arunachal Pradesh is and will remain an integral part of India. After Galwan, the country is facing the consequences of Modiji's clean chit to China," Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.
This comes after China's Ministry of Civil Affairs came up with the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it referred to as "Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet."
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Jairam Ramesh said a top Chinese diplomat has recently claimed that the India-China border situation is now "stable".
"But China's provocations and transgressions continue. It has now released a third set of Chinese names for places in Arunachal Pradesh, having done so earlier in 2017 and 2021. This is the price we continue to pay for PM Modi's clean chit to China in June 2020 and his eloquent silence on Chinese actions," Ramesh said in a statement.
He said almost three years later, Chinese forces continue to deny Indian patrolling teams access to the strategic Depsang plains to which they previously had unimpeded access.
"And now the Chinese are attempting to undermine the status quo in Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh has always been and remains an integral and unalienable part of India. The people of Arunachal Pradesh are proud and patriotic citizens of India. There should be no doubt whatsoever on the collective resolve of India, and of all Indians, to ensure that these realities are not disturbed in any way," the Congress leader said.
China released names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Pinyin according to the rules on geographical names issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, Global Times reported.
The ministry announced the names of 11 places on Sunday and also gave precise coordinates, including two residential areas, five mountain peaks, two rivers, and two other areas. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs also listed the category of places' names and their subordinate administrative districts, as per the news report.
According to a Global Times report, this is the third batch of geographical names announced by the ministry in Arunachal Pradesh. As per the news report, the first batch of the standardized names of six places was issued in 2017, and the second batch of 15 places was released in 2021.
Earlier, in December last year, the Indian government said that it has seen reports of China attempting to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh "in its own language" and asserted that the border state has been and will always be an integral part of India."
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)