China should refrain from meddling in the internal affairs of India, Union minister Kiren Rijiju today said after Beijing objected to the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh next week.
The Dalai Lama visits Arunachal between April 4 and 13. “We are not interfering in the internal matters of China and that country should not interfere into ours’,” the minister of state for home affairs told newspersons here. He said, the visit of the Dalai Lama was as per the wish of the people. China had on Friday said that allowing the Tibet’s exiled leader to visit Arunachal by India will cause “serious damage” to bilateral ties and had asked New Delhi to make a “choice”.
In its second warning to India in a month, the Chinese foreign ministry had said it was seriously concerned about India’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as part of south Tibet. The Union minister today also called for creating a peaceful atmosphere in Arunachal Pradesh so that fruits of development percolate down to every nook and corner of the state.
“NDA’s mantra for the North East is ‘peace and development’ and we are trying to make the region a secured and developed place so that it could compete with other develop parts of the country,” Rijiju, said at a programme here. “Our responsibility is to support outsiders who visit the state for execution of various developmental projects. If they feel insecure, they will leave the state without completing the projects and in the process development will suffer,” he said and called upon the people to contribute for development.
“The proposed three broad gauge (railway) lines will change the economy of the state once they are completed,” he said and called for proper execution of all developmental schemes without compromising on quality. (PTI)
