TIL Desk/World/New Delhi-Amid a row over the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the government today asked China not to interfere in its internal affairs, saying it respects the “One-China” policy and expects Beijing to reciprocate. Making a statement on the visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said here that the Tibetan spiritual leader’s visit to the border state is completely religious and no political motive should be ascribed to it.
“There is no political angle behind His Holiness’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. It is completely religious. Arunachal Pradesh is an inseparable part of India and China should not object to his visit and interfere in India’s internal affairs,” he told reporters here. Rijiju said India has never interfered in China’s internal affairs and it expect China to reciprocate. “We respect Beijing’s ‘One-China’ policy and we expect China to reciprocate,” he said.
The minister, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, said the state is “not a disputed territory” and is part of the Union of India and a “full-fledged state”. “There may be some differences of opinion between India and China over the boundary. But China has no locus standi over Arunachal Pradesh,” he said. Rijiju said talks between New Delhi and Beijing on the boundary dispute are going on and the people of Arunachal Pradesh are expecting that soon it would be resolved.
