Political parties in Arunachal Pradesh cutting across ideologies on Monday asked the Centre to take up with Chinese President Hu Jintao the baseless claim of the Chinese envoy in New Delhi that the state was part of China.
"We hope that during the Chinese president's visit, the matter will be taken up with him and the central government must ensure that the oft-repeated claim over Arunachal Pradesh is not made by China in the future," Tako Dabi, government spokesman told a press conference in Itanagar.
Dabi said all political parties in the state agreed with the view of the state government on this issue.
"We are all Indian citizens and were never ruled by China or Tibet at any point of time though there might have been some similarities in food habits, culture and dialects," he said.
He said the state government had made its stand clear that no part of the state, including the Buddhist centre at Tawang, could be exchanged for settlement of border disputes with China.
Dabi said India is now a powerful country and the people of Arunachal Pradesh should not be afraid of any more aggression.
"We are part and parcel of India," he said.
At a function in Itanagar, Chief Minister Gegong Apang described the claim of the Chinese envoy Sun Yuxi as "illogical and baseless" and said the people of Arunachal Pradesh and state government were fully supporting the efforts of the Indian government for sorting out the boundary dispute with China.
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