Itanagar:
China may have chosen voting day to amp up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh. The state delivered a fitting answer - a whopping 72 per cent voter turnout. One voter we met said, "No one has to fight China. We will do that through our vote".
China expressed its fury early on Tuesday over the Prime Minister's visit to Arunachal 10 days ago. India responded by summoning the Chinese ambassador and saying it's "disappointed" with China's stand. "Arunachal is part and parcel of India. There is no question about it," said External Affairs Minister SM Krishna to NDTV.
For weeks, the Indian government has been denying that China's been getting more aggressive on border issues with repeated incursions into Indian territory. Tuesday's exchange exposes the escalating tension.
At stake in Tuesday's election: 57 of the 60 seats in the state assembly. Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and two other Congress candidates have been elected unopposed from the three seats in Tawang district.
Arunachal usually tends to side with the ruling party at the centre, but this time around, voters seem more discerning. A woman we spoke to in Itanagar says, "Till the ruling party Congress stays, I don't think they can deliver. Congress is on a sticky wicket. Just look at the price rise - potato at 30 rupees, we poor people can't afford this".
China expressed its fury early on Tuesday over the Prime Minister's visit to Arunachal 10 days ago. India responded by summoning the Chinese ambassador and saying it's "disappointed" with China's stand. "Arunachal is part and parcel of India. There is no question about it," said External Affairs Minister SM Krishna to NDTV.
For weeks, the Indian government has been denying that China's been getting more aggressive on border issues with repeated incursions into Indian territory. Tuesday's exchange exposes the escalating tension.
At stake in Tuesday's election: 57 of the 60 seats in the state assembly. Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and two other Congress candidates have been elected unopposed from the three seats in Tawang district.
Arunachal usually tends to side with the ruling party at the centre, but this time around, voters seem more discerning. A woman we spoke to in Itanagar says, "Till the ruling party Congress stays, I don't think they can deliver. Congress is on a sticky wicket. Just look at the price rise - potato at 30 rupees, we poor people can't afford this".
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