New Delhi: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has strongly condemned the renaming of several areas in Arunachal Pradesh by China and said that the baseless claims made by China will not change the ground reality. "I strongly condemn China's illegally 'standardised' geographical names given to 30 places inside Arunachal Pradesh. China has been making all baseless claims but that's not going to change the ground reality and the 'historical facts'," he said. Taking to social media platform X, he wrote, "Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India, and the people of Arunachal Pradesh are supremely patriotic Indians by all standards & definitions."


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Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also said that changing names won't have any effect and the northeastern state was, is and will always be India's part. Jaishankar was speaking at the Corporate Summit 2024, presented by the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Monday.


"If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect," he said. "Our army is deployed at the Line of Actual Control...," EAM added.


China recently came up again with its claim over the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Terming the Indian State as "Zangan--an inherent part of China's territory," the Chinese Defence Ministry said that Beijing "never acknowledges and firmly opposes" the "so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India."


In response, the Ministry of External Affairs, in an official statement, said, "Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects." 


Notably, the decades-old territorial and fishing rights dispute around Katchatheevu Island is in the limelight ahead of polling in Tamil Nadu for Lok Sabha polls on April 19, with the BJP and the opposition engaged in a war of words over the issue.


PM Modi on Monday targeted the Congress party and DMK over the Katchatheevu island issue. He said that Congress "callously" gave away the island. He also alleged the ruling party of Tamil Nadu did "nothing" to safeguard the state's interests.


"Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away #Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people's minds--we can't ever trust Congress! Weakening India's unity, integrity and interests has been Congress' way of working for 75 years and counting," PM Modi said in a post on X on Sunday, referring to a media report.


Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the renaming of several areas in Arunachal Pradesh by China on Monday and urged the Centre to reprimand the actions of China while calling Beijing's action "ludicrous".


Citing a media report that mentioned China's renaming of several locations in Arunachal Pradesh, Congress chief Kharge said that when China resorts to such provocation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to seek refuge by creating a false narrative on Katchatheevu.