Stapled visa row: 'India should realise China's intentions and act accordingly', says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday reacted sharply to the Chinese Embassy issuing stapled visas to two Arunachal Pradesh archers, suggesting that the border state is still a 'disputed region', and said it is high time the Government of India realise Beijing's intentions and act accordingly.

BJP vice president Balbir Punj said both China and Pakistan are taking full advantage of the situation in India because it knows pretty well that New Delhi has a non-existent government.

"It is giving stapled visas to Indian citizens who belong to Arunachal Pradesh. And we have been taking this result for a long time. And the latest incident which happened at the Delhi airport yesterday only underlines that ugly reality. It is high time that the Government of India realise the intentions of China and act accordingly," said Punj.

"But this government is not capable of taking any initiative whatsoever and we have to suffer this humiliation at the hands of China and Pakistan," he added.

Two young women archers from Arunachal Pradesh, who were issued stapled Chinese visas, were prevented at the IGI Airport from leaving for China last night to take part in the upcoming Youth World Archery Championship.

Mihu Maselo and Yumi Sorang, the only two from Arunachal Pradesh in the 24-member archery squad, were stopped from boarding last night's China Southern Airlines flight to Guangzhou for the Youth World Archery Championship at Wuxi.

According to reports, the airlines told the archers from Arunachal Pradesh they would not be allowed to enter China without a proper visa on their passports, and refused to accept the stapled visas issued by the Chinese Embassy.

The stabled visa issue comes at a time when Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that India and China have steadily built a mature and mutually productive relationship.

"India and China are two civilizational neighbours. Economic cooperation constitutes a very important part of our relationship and the growth potential of our two economies can provide the engine for greater cooperation and can also contribute to prosperity in Asia and beyond," Dr. Singh said in an interview to an Indonesian newspaper, Kompas.

"We have had differences, but we have steadily built a mature and mutually beneficial relationship. We have maintained peace and tranquility on our borders. We also collaborate on a range of regional and global issues," he added.

Dr. Singh also said that he was convinced that there was enough space in the world today for cooperative efforts by all sides to meet their needs and aspirations.