Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today criticised the Gujarat government for signing Memorandums of Understanding with China that have maps showing Arunachal Pradesh and some parts of Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territories.
“Showing Arunachal Pradesh and some parts of Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territories was a major blunder by the Gujarat government,” Gogoi said in a statement here. “Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are integral parts of India. The handout showing the two states as disputed territories has caused irreparable harm to the country's image and integrity,” he said.
The Centre went out of its way to appease the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve bilateral ties and for the sake of investments by putting the country's interests at stake, Gogoi alleged.
He demanded strict action against Gujarat Additional Chief Secretary D Pandian for the serious lapse as “it has harmed the country's image and integrity”.
“If an IAS officer has no idea about Arunachal Pradesh being an intrinsic part of India and is showing it as a disputed territory, he does not deserve to be in the top post. Such an officer must be removed from service at once,” the Chief Minister said.
Gogoi also slammed the NDA Government for keeping its own Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju away from the MoU signing as a ‘humiliating act'.
He said the inquiry ordered by the Centre on the issue was an eyewash to hoodwink the people of the country. “Where is the need for an inquiry when it is crystal clear that such an act was deliberately done just to appease the visiting Chinese President? What is most unfortunate is that everything took place right in the presence of the Prime Minister,” he said.
Gogoi also criticised the action of the Gujarat government for turning a blind eye to the incident that took place at a hotel in Ahmedabad during the visit of Chinese President. “The manner in which staffers of the hotel from North East were asked to stay away during the Chinese President's visit is a disgraceful act.
Such discriminatory attitude has to change if we are to remove the sense of alienation among the people of the North East Region and to bring the region closer to the mainland,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the NDA Government did not pay any importance to the issue of the construction of dams on Brahmaputra river by China and did not discuss it with the visiting Chinese President despite the serious concerns of the people of the state and the region as a whole. On stapled visas issued to people from Arunachal Pradesh by China, the Chief Minister said the Union government should have opposed it tooth and nail.
“By accepting the stapled visa policy, the NDA Government has only helped China to keep up pressure on Arunachal Pradesh which they claim it to be their own. It will undermine India's position on the border question,” he said.
