Rijiju's dig at UPA: Past ministers didn't even know names of northeastern states

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, August 8

The ruling BJP on Tuesday fielded Union Culture Minister and Arunachal West MP Kiren Rijiju to defend the Government’s record in the northeast amid an Opposition offensive on Manipur violence and ongoing LAC tensions with China.

Intervening in the debate that stretched from 12 noon to 6 pm today, Rijiju dared Congress MPs to come with him to Arunachal Pradesh where he said not an inch of Indian land had been transgressed by China.

”Come with me to Arunachal and I will show you inch by inch….Don’t believe what someone mischievously writes …China is setting up villages in the area which the Congress gave away to it,” said Rijiju questioning former PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s China policy.

In a dig at the Congress led UPA government, Rijiju said when he first became a Lok Sabha MP in 2004, people in Delhi did not know where Arunachal was located.

“Union ministers did not know how many states the northeast had. The story changed after 2014,” Rijiju said in a caustic remark seeking to puncture the Opposition’s attack on Manipur violence.

Stressing the government line thatdeveloped borders were aiding improved Indian troop deployment against China, the minister said border infrastructure along the LAC from Arunachal to J&K and Ladakh had been strengthened post 2014.

“Today there is no major area along the LAC where a car does not go. Pre 2014 we had to walk all the way. Today the Border Roads Organization has constructed a large number of bridges and roads, each district headquarter has a double lane road,” said Rijiju.

He said PM Narendra Modi had developed border villages which the past governments neglected for over 60 years adding,“When our government was formed, in the first cabinet meeting, the PM said that every 15 days, five cabinet ministers and seven ministers of state must tour the Northeast. It is going on, all ministers sitting here have toured the northeast.”

The minister added that before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections all NE villages along the border with China up to JK and Ladakh will have 100 % 4G connectivity.

Jairam attacks Rijiju

“Yes, we all know about the frequency of visits of Union ministers before any election. But it has been 97 days since the horrific ethnic violence broke out in Manipur. INDIA (opposition bloc) asks how many of Modi’s ministers have been to Manipur?” Ramesh asked on X.