Anurag Thakur cancels Asian Games visit after China denies entry to sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh

Sandeep Dikshit 

New Delhi, September 22

Reacting to some Indian sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh being denied entry into 19th Asian Games in China, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Sports Anurag Thakur has cancelled his scheduled visit to China for the Games.

India has also lodged a strong protest in New Delhi and Beijing against this.

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 spokesperson was reacting to media queries on some Indian sportspersons being denied entry into 19th Asian Games.

Bagchi said the government had learnt that the Chinese authorities have, in a “targeted and pre-meditated manner, discriminated” against some of the Indian sportspersons from the state of Arunachal Pradesh by denying them accreditation and entry to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

“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.

Further, as a mark of our protest against the Chinese action, the Government of India reserves the right to take suitable measures to safeguard our interests, he cautioned.