Itanagar, Jan 6 : Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju on Thursday rejected China’s reported move to rename 15 locations of Arunachal Pradesh, wondering “how can we accept the renaming of our places by outsider”.
Asked for his comment on recent media reports that China has renamed 15 locations of Arunachal Pradesh in its own language, Rijiju, who was on a day’s visit to the state capital on Thursday, said, “Such actions (by the neighbouring country) will not alter the state’s status. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and will remain so…Outsider cannot change it,” he said without mentioning China.
“If someone changes our name from outside the country, will we accept it? Your name is what your parents gave you… someone else forcibly changing your name, would you agree?” he quizzed.
“We have been given the name of Arunachal by the country, and this is our traditional name. The identity of our community will remain the same. Giving any name from outside does not change our status,” Rijiju, the MP from Arunachal West constituency, emphatically said.
Recently, China has renamed 15 locations of Arunachal Pradesh, including eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass, according to news reports.