People's Party of Arunachal critical of Look East policy

ITANAGAR: The People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) today attacked the Centre's "Look East Policy" and said it is only on papers and hardly anything was happening on the ground, except few VIP visits of the passes and proposed trade points along the international border.

In a statement, PPA President Nikh Kamin lambasted the Union government for, what he said, was throwing dust into the eyes of the people of North East region in general and Arunachal in particular.

Citing the celebration of border festivals like 'Pangchau Pass' festival which attracts good number of visitors from neighboring states and also provide a platform for people-to -people contact from both India and Burma, Kamin, said that mere celebration of festivals at the huge cost of the public exchequer carries no meaning unless there was real infrastructural development in place and regular flourishing of the business activities.

He further said the trade with neighbouring China through various traditional trade routes, which were sealed after 1962 Chinese aggression, was only a "utopian dream" with only few check gates at Bumla Pass in Tawang Sector.

"The large trust deficit that is building up between India and China leading to extensive militarisation of the frontiers in both side of LOC are simply contributing to zeroing of the liberal trade and business possibilities," he said, adding even the unofficial traditional barter system of the people living in and around the LOC have been curtailed by the army in the interest of the national security.

Kamin stated that the central leadership has utterly failed in initiating confidence building measures between the two countries.