Arindam Bagchi: Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Sports, postponed his trip to China for the 19th Asian Games in response to certain Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh being denied admittance. India has formally protested this in both Beijing and New Delhi.
India Protests China's Discrimination Against Arunachal Pradesh Athletes at Asian Games
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "China’s action violates both the spirit of the Asian Games and the rules governing their conduct, which explicitly prohibits discrimination against competitors from member states.” The MEA spokeswoman was responding to media inquiries over several Indian athletes who were turned away from the 19th Asian Games. Bagchi said that the Chinese government had "targeted and premeditatedly discriminated" against certain of the Indian athletes from the state of Arunachal Pradesh by refusing to grant them accreditation and access to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.
India Asserts Arunachal Pradesh's Integral Status and Protests Discrimination by China
"In line with our long-standing and consistent position, India firmly rejects differential treatment of Indian citizens on the basis of domicile or ethnicity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India," he asserted. He further emphasised that the Government of India reserves the right to take appropriate actions to protect our interests as a sign of our protest against the Chinese move.