Arunachal is integral part of India, says Bihar lawmaker

Itanagar, May 22 (ANI): The chairman of Bihar Assembly Zila Parishad and Panchayat Committee, Amarendra Pratap Singh, has said that 'the way people from all over the country are harmoniously living in Arunachal Pradesh is proof that the land is an integral part of India and belongs to us Indians'.

Singh's reaction came during an interaction between the 22-member team (including seven lawmakers) he is leading and Lok Sabha member Takam Sanjoy, when the team called on the latter at his bungalow here today.

Sanjoy said that the state, spread over 83, 743 square kilometers, has vast natural resources and very thin population.

"But people from the rest of India, mainly from Assam, Bihar, UP and the southern States are living in peace with the local tribal communities, which makes it a 'Mini India', barring some skirmishes over its territory by China," he said.

Chote Lal Rai pitched in to say: "China's claims make no difference. We as legislators know Arunachal is a part and parcel of this largest democracy of the world."

When Rai said that every Bihar MLA represents three lakh electors, a smiling Sanjoy said, "In Arunachal it is around 20,000 and as MP my Western Parliamentary constituency has a total of 5.5 lakh voters and the average turnout is between 3.5 to 4 lakh."

After learning about the rapid multifaceted growth in communication, education, power supply and health sectors in Bihar, Sanjoy wanted to know the factors behind the success. Bihar was an ill-reputed state, except for its Begusarai district, which has produced the highest number of IAS officers in the country.

"Crime is a universal phenomenon. But Nitishji not only stopped supporting, sheltering and abetting criminals, he also ensured that no politician shelters criminals, which has brought back law and order and paved the way for rapid development," Singh responded with conviction.

"Bihar is flourishing with the people standing like a rock behind the CM," Rai added.

"The people of Bihar working in any capacity in this State would receive the support of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the locals, unlike in any neighbouring state," Sanjoy assured as MP and also on behalf of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

Trouble-torn Bihar taking a U-turn and making rapid strides towards development under visionary Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is an example for the Northeastern states to emulate, the MP said, and congratulated the people of Bihar and its chief minister for the achievement.

He informed that Kumar and his Arunachal counterpart Nabam Tuki have planned for the growth of cultural tourism by cementing the bilateral ties between the two states.

While thanking Kumar for assuring a land at Bodh Gaya as pleaded by Tuki during the 11-day-long 32nd Kalachakra Initiation for World Peace on January 10 last, for the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to build a dharamshala for the Buddhist pilgrims from the State, he informed that over 10,000 Buddhist pilgrims including Tourism Minister Pema Khandu attended the global event blessed by spiritual leader His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

He said that Arunachal, home to 57,000 mw hydropower potentials besides huge natural and mineral resources, would soon be on the hydropower map of India and enrich its coffers with its huge earnings.

"The present scenario - Arunachal depending on New Delhi - would reverse in a decade if Arunachalees adopt the Bihar model" concluded Sanjoy.

Earlier the team, including MLAs Sarfarz Alam, Manoranja Singh, Janardan Majhi, Ashok Kumar Singh, Prabhat Ranjan Singh and Brij Kishore Singh, were highly impressed during its visit to Jawaharlal Nehru State Museum.

The members paid their obeisance to Lord Buddha at the local gompa where their interaction in chaste Bhojpuri with some hawkers and drivers gave them the real feel of the state. By Pradeep Kumar (ANI)