India rejects China's objections to Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh: MEA Spokesperson.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Tuesday rejected China's objection to Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, asserting that Arunachal Pradesh "was, is and will" always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.

He added that objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality.

"We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality," the official statement stated.

On Monday, a spokesperson of Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the visit “violated China’s sovereignty”.

“Zangnan is China’s territory. Indian officials’ activities in this area violate China’s sovereignty and territorial sovereignty and not conducive to peace and tranquillity in the border regions. We firmly oppose it,” said the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Wang Wenbin.

The Home Minister, Amit Shah on Tuesday morning had an engaging discussion with the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and others at Kibithoo, the village located along the border with China.

Image Source- Home Minister Amit Shah's official Twitter page

Following the meeting, the Home Minister said, “The Modi government is committed to the security and development of border areas”

His remarks came a day after he had said no one can dare cast an evil eye on India's territorial integrity and encroach even an "inch of our land."

He said, the times when anyone could encroach on Indian land have passed and that today no one can even occupy land equal to a needle point.

The Home Minister today paid tributes to the brave heroes of the 1962 war at the Walong War Memorial in Arunachal Pradesh.

Image Source- Home Minister Amit Shah's official Twitter page

Shah launched the Vibrant Villages Programme and various other projects at Kibithoo on Monday.

The Home Minister’s visit came one week after Beijing said it would “rename” 11 places of Arunachal Pradesh, in an attempt to lay claim to the entire State.