A day after China criticised Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said the northeast state was an "integral and inalienable part of India".


Rejecting China's remarks on Shah's visit, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said such objections do not stand to reason and will not change reality.


"We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India," Bagchi said in a tweet.



"Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality," he said.


Bagchi was responding to media queries on the Chinese reaction.


On Monday, Amit Shah visited Arunachal Pradesh and launched the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' from Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border and India's easternmost place. Addressing a gathering, the Home MInister, in a clear message to China, said no one can dare cast an evil eye on India's territorial integrity and encroach even an "inch of our land".


READ | 'Nobody Can Take Even An Inch Of Our Land': Amit Shah At Arunachal Village Near China Border


"Times when anyone could encroach on Indian land have passed. No one can question India's territorial integrity. Nobody can take even an inch of our land," he had said.


Last week, China "renamed" some places in Arunachal Pradesh that it claims as part of its territory. This is the third time that China has "renamed" places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls "Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet".


While talking to reporters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, "Zangnan is China's territory".


"The Indian official's visit to Zangnan violates China's territorial sovereignty, and is not conducive to the peace and tranquility of the border situation," he said, as quoted by news agency Reuters.


India has rejected China's renaming move, calling Arunachal an "inalienable" part of India.