ITANAGAR: Dismissing China's repeated claims over Arunachal Pradesh territory, newly appointed Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin today sent a clear message to Beijing that the state will remain as an "integral part" of the Indian Union.

"There is no doubt that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and the people here are very patriotic and speak fluent Hindi," Gamlin told reporters at his official residence here.

"Any problem whenever it arises along the international boundary, we report to the defence and external Affairs ministries for redressal, as it is beyond the jurisdiction of the state government.
"It is for New Delhi to take up matters with their Beijing counterparts," he said.

Denying any Chinese incursion in the state, he said Indian and Chinese villagers sometimes crossed the Indo-Sino boundary. "It is demarcated by an imaginary line which cannot be described as incursion."

China claims 90,000 square kilometres of Indian territory including the whole of Arunachal, which India denies.

Gamlin appealed to the people to remain calm as the state was passing through a crucial juncture with the death of former chief minister Dorjee Khandu.

"It is time for us to stand united and work with consensus to take Khandu's dream of a prosperous Arunachal forward," he said.

Asked about the PDS scandal in which former chief minister Gegong Apang is on bail, he said the law would take its own course in all cases of corruption.

On the various memorandum of understandings and agreements inked to tap the huge hydro-power potential of the state, he said, "My government will ensure effective implementation of all projects on time in the greater interest of the nation."