The Arunachal Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday accused the Congress party of politicising sensitive regional issues, including Article 371(H) of the Constitution, the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA) 1978, and the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), in a bid to score political points ahead of upcoming elections. Speaking to the media, BJP state spokesperson and Roing MLA Mutchu Mithi said these important measures were introduced or approved under previous Congress governments. “Article 371(H) was enacted in 1986 when the Congress was in power both in Arunachal Pradesh and at the Centre. Similarly, the APFRA was passed during a Congress-led government, and the Siang dam project was approved by the Congress-led Union government in 2009,” Mithi noted.
He accused Congress of raising these issues repeatedly without factual grounds to gain political mileage, adding, “The party lost its way after being dethroned from power.” The BJP leader’s remarks followed recent moves by Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Bosiram Siram, who met national Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi to demand amendments to Article 371(H) to match the special provisions enjoyed by Nagaland and Mizoram under Articles 371(A) and 371(G). Siram also voiced concerns about the Siang dam and APFRA.
Addressing the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, Mithi said the dam was strategically important to regulate water flow, generate power, support irrigation, and control floods in the region. He highlighted concerns about China’s hydropower projects on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, which could disrupt water flow and cause ecological damage. “The SUMP’s proposed 11,000 MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric project, with a storage capacity nearing nine billion cubic metres, could be one of India’s largest reservoirs,” he said.
