Refusal of visa to Arunachal IAS officer unfortunate:CM Khandu

New Delhi, May 28 (UNI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu has termed the denial of visa to a state IAS officer by China as most 'unfortunate' as it implied acknowledging the state as a territory belonging to China.

The CM, in a press statement issued here today, stated that one would be naive to ignore the inherent and latent message in China's refusal to grant visa to the IAS officer ''as their refusal to accept Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.'' ''Their refusal to grant visa is not the sole instance. In the past, many Arunachali officers were refused visa by China. We urge the Goverment to take up the issue with China at appropriate level in right earnest to get the issue clarified in order to remove the prevailing doubts about the real intention of China,''he said.

Mr Khandu said it is quite unfortunate that China refuses to accept the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. ''The tribal people are proud of the legacy of Parusuram, Rukmini, Shiva and Buddha since time immemorial and we are an integral part of Akhand Bharat,'' he asserted.

UNI