No incursion by Chinese: Arunachal CM

Close on the heels of the defence ministry's denial of a Chinese incursion into Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu has said that there was no report that Chinese forces had entered 20 km inside Indian territory at Sumdorong-Chu in Tawang district.

Referring to a statement in this regard made by independent legislator Lokam Tassar and quoted by a television news channel on Monday, Khandu said the comments were 'irresponsible, most unfortunate and unsubstantiated utterances.'

Khandu told media persons in Guwahati while on his way to New Delhi on Monday that the Chinese have been claiming Arunachal Pradesh as their territory but there have not been any incursions.

Chinese forces had crossed the Line of Actual Control and occupied Sumdorong-Chu Valley and Asapila and Lunger areas in Tawang district in 1986.

In the absence of a properly delineated LAC, troops from both sides wandered into each other's territory, Khandu said.

Khandu reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and people of the state would never give up their territorial rights.

Just before the visit of the Chinese president to India last year, Chinese envoy Sun Yuxi had claimed that the whole of Arunachal Pradesh was Chinese territory.

Nearly 180 opposition BJP members of both houses of Parliament on Tuesday decided to demand for constitution of a joint parliamentary group to visit the border in Arunachal Pradesh.

Kiren Rijiju, a BJP lawmaker from the state, alleged the Chinese, taking advantage of poor infrastructure on the Indian side, had been 'continuously encroaching' into Arunachal Pradesh at many places along the over 1,000-km-long border.