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Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the Centre is committed to developing infrastructure in border areas, asserting that the Narendra Modi government has made border development a "top priority."
The Minister recently visited some remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh to personally oversee and expedite critical infrastructure projects. In a post on social media platform X, Rijiju said, "Some people casually commented on border. Border areas are tough but Narendra Modi government is committed to border development. I went to Maza, Galemo, Taksing areas in Arunachal Pradesh to speed up infrastructure works. Borders were neglected in the past but it's top priority now." The post came hours after an earlier post shared by Rijiju, where he cautioned against unverified claims of Chinese intrusion into Arunachal Pradesh while speaking to a news agency. "If anyone claims that China has entered 60 kilometres inside, one should not say such things. Between China and India, in Arunachal Pradesh, there is a very long border, and that border has not been demarcated. There are no border pillars there, so the border has not been defined on the ground... But lying that they have intruded 60 kilometres inside, and using random photos from Bangladesh or elsewhere to claim that the Chinese army has entered 60 kilometres inside Arunachal--spreading such rumours will lower the morale of our soldiers and security forces, and it creates confusion across the nation. This is not right," he said. Rijiju said the issue was not recent and acknowledged the concerns of villagers living in Arunachal Pradesh over the border. "This is not a recent issue. Right from the beginning, when Tibet was a separate nation, even then the border between Tibet and India was not delimited. There is an issue at the border. The concern expressed by some villagers in Arunachal regarding the border problem is genuine, because border delineation has not taken place there. So, because the border is not demarcated, tensions continue to occur between China and India. The main problem is that the Chinese side started building roads and infrastructure earlier; they constructed highways and infrastructure," he said. He alleged that during the Congress-led government, India had followed a policy of not constructing roads and infrastructure along the Arunachal Pradesh border, while China continued its construction activity. "During the Congress regime, the then Defence Minister, Mr Antony, gave a statement in Parliament that it was the Indian government's policy not to build roads or infrastructure along the Arunachal Pradesh border, while China kept building," Rijiju said. He added that this policy changed after 2014 under the Modi government and infrastructure development on the Indian side subsequently accelerated. "The work of building roads on our side only began after 2014 when Modi ji changed this policy. Now, our roads are also being constructed. At Maza, which is the last border point in the Asapila range, I personally went there, met our BRO personnel, the Army, and the ITBP, and the road was completed; now that road is ready. Just think about it: from 1947 onwards, for so many years, roads could not be built at the border. Even the road to Taksing was built during Modi ji's tenure in 2019, and I visited there myself," he said. Admitting that Chinese military activity has increased on some of the top ridgelines, Rijiju said that concerns expressed by villagers over such activity should be taken seriously. "So, when our roads were not built and China built theirs, the Chinese army occupied some areas in the upper regions earlier and constructed border infrastructure there. In response, we are also building now. It is not as if they have come and captured our villages--that is not the case. They have set foot on some land because there is no demarcation. However, on the top ridgelines, Chinese army activity has certainly increased, and the villagers expressing concern about that is valid. We should take that very seriously," he said. "India-China Border issue is a serious subject. Do not make false claim on such sensitive matter. We don't want to repeat the past mistakes. Govt will address the concern of the local people and protect Indian Territory," he assured. (ANI)
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