Rahul Gandhi slams Centre, says Nation's security demands strong decisions, not hollow words

Amid the ongoing row over the renaming of 15 places by the Chinese government in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Centre and said that the security of the nation demands wise and strong decisions, adding that "hollow words" will not bring success.

The Congress leader also shared a report of China's renaming 15 places of Arunachal Pradesh on Twitter.

"Just a few days back we were remembering India's glorious victory in 1971. For the security and triumph of the nation, wise and strong decisions are needed. Hollow words do not bring success!" reads Rahul Gandhi's tweet roughly translated from Hindi.

The government said on Thursday that it has seen reports of China attempting to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh "in its own language" and asserted that the border state has been and will always be an integral part of India and "assigning invented names does not alter this fact".

In response to a media query on reports that China has renamed some places in Arunachal Pradesh in its own language, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017.

"We have seen such reports. This is not the first time that China has attempted to rename places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017," Bagchi said.

"Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact," he added.

Media reports said the Chinese government has sought to "rename" 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh in its map two days ahead of implementing new border law.

( With inputs from ANI )

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