Jaishankar’s jibe at China: ‘If I change your house’s name, will it become mine?’
The MEA asserted that assigning ‘invented names’ will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh ‘is, has been, and will always be’ an integral part of India
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar slammed China’s attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying changing names will not have any effect and the northeastern state “was, is, and will always be a part of India”.
Speaking at the Corporate Summit 2024 organised by the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jaishankar said with tongue in cheek, “If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect.”
MEA statement
The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday (April 2) firmly rejected attempts by China to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that assigning "invented names" will not alter the reality that the state "is, has been, and will always be" an integral and inalienable part of India.
The statement was issued by the MEA in response to media queries in the wake of China releasing a fourth list of 30 new names of various places in Arunachal Pradesh amid Beijing's stepped-up assertions in recent weeks to re-emphasise its claim over the Indian state.
"China has persisted with its senseless attempts to rename places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. We firmly reject such attempts. Assigning invented names will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted as saying in the statement.
‘Baseless claims’
On March 28, India said that Beijing may "repeat its baseless claims" as many times as it wants but that is not going to change New Delhi's position that Arunachal Pradesh "was, is and will always remain" an integral and inalienable part of the country.
Jaiswal had said this during his weekly press briefing, in response to a query on China continuing to harp on its claim over Arunachal Pradesh. His comments at the briefing had come days after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian had reiterated China's claim.
(With agency inputs)
