PTI
NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 15
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] group of people from Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday staged demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the issue of stapled visa by China for citizens from the state.
Protesters under the banner of Arunachal Civil Society (ACS) raised slogans and raised placards against China for issuing stapled visa to people of Arunachal Pradesh.
Students from Delhi University and other universities also participated in the protest. The demonstartion started around 11 am, with the protesters holding placards saying “Regular visa is our right”, “Resolve the issue of stapled visa”, “Who am I, Indian or Chinese”, “No Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai” and “Stop Chinese movement in Arunachal Pradesh”.
“Why does China continue to issue stapled visas to people of Arunchal Pradesh when it is an accepted fact that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India?” Patey Tayum, chairman of ACS, asked.“In October 1981, China refused to give visa to member of Indian Parliamentary Delegation TL Rajkumar, speaker of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly to an Asian conference of parlimentarians on population and development. In October last year as well, two archers from the state were issued stapled visa,” he said
Stating that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, he asked why our government was not serious to resolve this issue. “We want Central government to immediately instigate mechanism to resolve the stapled visa with the China before December 31. If government fails to resolve it within this deadline, we will start staging an indefinite protest from the Republic Day at Jantar Mantar,” Tayum said.
After the protest, a delegation of ACS gave memorandums to PMO and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with regard to their demand.
