China has no claim to Arunachal Pradesh: Tuki

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki on Tuesday firmly said that his state is an integral part of India, and that there was no question of China staking a claim to it, or to people of Arunachal shifting their allegiance from New Delhi to Beijing.

Reiterating that China has no right to dictate terms to the people of Arunachal Pradesh, Tuki, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament, said: "We will do whatever we want to, as it is within the boundary of India. There is no question of looking upto China for that."

"We will do any development activities and ask for autonomy. We are not going to ask China to do anything in the state. We will not ask them to make policies for us. We will work as per the laws of our nation," he added.

When asked why he was pressing for autonomous status, Tuki said: "We are facing problems of insurgency. The people there (Arunachal Pradesh) need development and security. We have asked for status (autonomy) for the people there. We want the areas to progress."

He also expressed his strong objection to China questioning the recent visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to his state.

He said: "Who can stop the nation's president from going to a state? He can go anytime. Many prime ministers, presidents and ministers from the cabinet have been visiting the state. They will visit the state. It is our state. Who can say no to them? Who can even discuss about this matter?

He also rejected reports of there being a serious situation in Arunachal Pradesh.

"The state is associated with the Constitution (of the nation). Secular democracy has always been there. Indian Government's elected government has been working there. We send our members to the Indian Parliament during its session every time. Therefore, there is no question of anyone claiming the land," Tuki said.

"We are not going to ask China to do anything in the state. We will not ask them to make policies for us. We will work as per the laws of our nation," he said.