Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday (August 20, 2026) said border areas had been neglected in the past but were now a “top priority” of the Narendra Modi government, as he sought to counter claims of fresh Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh .
Mr. Rijiju also invoked former Defence Minister A.K. “Some people casually commented on border. Border areas are tough, but @narendramodi govt is committed to border development. I went to Maza, Galemo, Taksing areas in Arunachal Pradesh to speed up infrastructure works. Borders were neglected in the past but it’s top priority now,” Mr. “Amongst the Congress leaders, A.K. Anthony Ji is very honest. Mr. Rijiju was referring to Mr. Explaining the historical thinking behind the policy, Mr. Undeveloped borders are safer than developed borders. So, for many years, there was no construction of roads or airfields in the border areas. Now, we are also strengthening our capabilities in the border areas… I can tell you, without any exaggeration, that only during the last nine years, as the UPA Government, we have done the maximum to strengthen the capabilities in the border areas. In times of UPA-I & UPA-II, it is being done. And maybe future governments also will continue the same thing; whoever comes, they will continue the same thing,” Mr.
Antony’s 2013 statement in Parliament acknowledging India’s historical policy of keeping border areas underdeveloped, though Mr. Antony’s remarks in the Lok Sabha on September 6, 2013, when the then Defence Minister acknowledged that China had built significantly better infrastructure along the border and attributed India’s lag to a policy followed for decades after Independence. “But, of late, in the last 20-25 years, the Indian government also realised the mistake and changed its policy.
Antony had then said that the approach had been discarded by successive governments much before the UPA came to power. Rijiju said in a post on X. As Defence Minister he admitted the Congress Govt’s policy of not making border infrastructure on the floor of the Parliament,” he said. Antony had said, “The independent India had a policy for many years that the best defence is not to develop the border. Antony had said. After the reports of tension along the border surfaced, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is critical to the overall relationship with China.
