Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of India: PM

New Delhi, Feb 3: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that Arunachal Pradesh has always been an integral part of India and will remain so and the Chinese map showing the northeastern state as its part will not change the reality.

This "simple fact" was conveyed by the Prime Minister to a delegation of All Arunachal Pradesh Students'' Union which met him here yesterday, AAPSU president Takam Tatung said.

"Arunachal Pradesh has always been an integral part of India and will remain so," Tatung quoted Singh as saying.

On the issue of China issuing stapled visa to residents of Arunachal Pradesh, Singh said the Centre was putting its sincere efforts to solve the problem at the earliest.

The Prime Minister said Arunachal Pradesh cannot remain in isolation and the fruit of development should reach there like the rest of the country.

"During my visit to Arunachal Pradesh in 2008, creation of infrastructure in the state had been outlined and our governments both at the Centre and in the state are doing best to accelerate the pace of development," Tatung said quoting the Prime Minister.

The AAPSU delegation also brought to the notice of the Prime Minister the decades-old Chakma-Hajong issue in the state, insurgency in Tirap and Changlang, Assam-Arunachal boundary row and mechanism to monitor proper implementation of all the government schemes in the state, Tatung added.

PTI