NEW DELHI: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday fired off a stern caveat to China against renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh and reaffirmed India's stance to respond if its "honour is hurt".
During his public rally in Arunachal's Namsai, Rajnath Singh said "nothing is going to happen by changing the names".
He said if New Delhi decided to change the names of Chinese provinces, it would not become part of the Indian territory.
"China has changed the names of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh and posted on its website. I want to tell my neighbour that nothing is going to happen by changing the names. If tomorrow we change the names of some provinces and some States of China, so by doing that will those areas become a part of India?" said the defence minister.
He said India aspires to maintain good relations with neighbours but not at the cost of honour.
" Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to say that friends change in life but neighbours do not change. India's thinking is that we want to maintain good relations with all our neighbours but if someone tries to hurt India's honour then today India has the power to respond to it," said Rajnath Singh.
Underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's Vikist Bharat (developed India) goal, Rajnath Singh said it's not only a slogan but the BJP's commitment.
"Our Prime Minister has also pledged to make India a developed country by 2047. Viksit Bharat is not our slogan but our commitment. If today BJP-led is working to take the country forward, then it should have your full support," Rajnath Singh said.
The defence minister's remarks have come in the backdrop of China releasing a list of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to assert its claim over India's northeastern state.
However, the ministry of external affairs firmly rejected China's attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying assigning invented names will "not alter the reality that the state will always be an integral and inalienable part of India".
"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," External Affairs ministry official spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said in an official statement.
According to a March 30 report in its state-run Global Times, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released a fourth list of standardized geographical names in Zangnan, the name that China uses for Arunachal Pradesh.
According to the official website of the ministry, 30 additional publicly used place names in the Zangnan region have been officially revealed, the Global Times report said.
(With ANI inputs)
During his public rally in Arunachal's Namsai, Rajnath Singh said "nothing is going to happen by changing the names".
He said if New Delhi decided to change the names of Chinese provinces, it would not become part of the Indian territory.
"China has changed the names of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh and posted on its website. I want to tell my neighbour that nothing is going to happen by changing the names. If tomorrow we change the names of some provinces and some States of China, so by doing that will those areas become a part of India?" said the defence minister.
He said India aspires to maintain good relations with neighbours but not at the cost of honour.
" Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to say that friends change in life but neighbours do not change. India's thinking is that we want to maintain good relations with all our neighbours but if someone tries to hurt India's honour then today India has the power to respond to it," said Rajnath Singh.
Underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's Vikist Bharat (developed India) goal, Rajnath Singh said it's not only a slogan but the BJP's commitment.
"Our Prime Minister has also pledged to make India a developed country by 2047. Viksit Bharat is not our slogan but our commitment. If today BJP-led is working to take the country forward, then it should have your full support," Rajnath Singh said.
The defence minister's remarks have come in the backdrop of China releasing a list of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to assert its claim over India's northeastern state.
However, the ministry of external affairs firmly rejected China's attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying assigning invented names will "not alter the reality that the state will always be an integral and inalienable part of India".
"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," External Affairs ministry official spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said in an official statement.
According to a March 30 report in its state-run Global Times, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released a fourth list of standardized geographical names in Zangnan, the name that China uses for Arunachal Pradesh.
According to the official website of the ministry, 30 additional publicly used place names in the Zangnan region have been officially revealed, the Global Times report said.
(With ANI inputs)
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