A report in the news agency Reuters cited China's foreign minister as saying that Shah's visit to the area 'violated China's territorial sovereignty'.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah's arrival in Arunachal Pradesh has spooked China, which led it to question the intent behind the visit. A report in the news agency Reuters cited China's foreign minister as saying that Shah's visit to the area 'violated China's territorial sovereignty'.
The Union Home Minister is scheduled to launch the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' (VVP) in Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border, during his two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The visit comes days after China left New Delhi fuming after it renamed 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including mountain peaks, rivers and residential areas – claiming them as part of its southern Tibet.
However, India had rejected China's claim and stated Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of it. Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said: "This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright. Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality."
In his first visit to the northeastern state as home minister, Shah will inaugurate nine micro hydel projects constructed under the Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme' in Kibithoo. These electricity projects will empower people living in border villages.
Shah will also inaugurate Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) projects to augment infrastructure at Likabali (Arunachal Pradesh), Chapra (Bihar), Nooranad (Kerala) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), the officials said.
Shah is slated to interact with ITBP personnel at Kibithoo in the Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh. The home minister will visit the Namti field on Tuesday and pay homage at the Walong war memorial.
The Vibrant Villages Programme is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development. In the first phase, 662 villages, including 455 in Andhra Pradesh, have been identified for priority coverage.
With PTI Inputs
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