“China is ‘renaming’ 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh. Satellite images had recently showed China has also built two villages in our territory.”

NEW DELHI — After the Chinese government renamed 15 places of Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress on Friday slammed the Modi-led government for ‘inaction and shying away from naming China for the land grab of Indian Territory’.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, “China is ‘renaming’ 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh. Satellite images had recently showed China has also built two villages in our territory. PM Modi and his Beijing Janata Party leaders shy away from even naming China! All they do is distract and deny this land grab by the Chinese.”

The reaction comes as ahead of China implementing its new border law, the Chinese government had renamed 15 places of Arunachal Pradesh in its map.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a statement stating that they have ‘standardised’ names for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, to be used on the Chinese maps.

This is the second time China has renamed some places of Arunachal Pradesh. Way back in 2017, China had changed the names of six places.

On October 23, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body, passed a new law citing “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”. The committee had stated that the new law will come into effect from January 1.

The law is not meant specifically for the border with India. China shares its 22,457 km land boundary with 14 countries including India, the third longest after the borders with Mongolia and Russia.

The new border law has 62 articles and seven chapters. As per the law, the People’s Republic of China shall set up boundary markers on all its land borders to clearly mark the border.

The type of marker is to be decided in agreement with the relevant neighbouring state.

The Congress has been critical of the government’s handling of disputes with China.