ITANAGAR, 11 Oct: Former chief minister Gegong Apang on Sunday reiterated his demand for scrapping the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project [SUMP] and accused Chief Minister Pema Khandu of preparing a plan to expel the Adis from their ancestral homeland and make them refugees.

In a press statement, Apang said the chief minister has taken an anti-Adi stance and decided to destroy the ancestral homeland of the Adis along the Siang River. He said Khandu is trying to create a false narrative by saying that the SUMP is intended to control water flow from the dam being built by China in the upper reaches of the Siang River and save the Adis of the Siang region.

Apang questioned who would be saved from the Chinese dam water when most of the ancestral land of the Adis would be submerged under the water of the huge reservoir of the mega dam.

He said that Khandu is being supported by leaders from the Adi community, like Tapir Gao, Alo Libang, Ojing Tasing and Oni Panyang, "whose hearts do not beat for the Adis when the community is fighting a battle for survival and existence." Apang said they are supporting the mega dam project to please Khandu, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein.

"It is very surprising that all these politicians who are not from Siang region are using their power to act against the will of the Adis. They are trying their best to disrespect the sentiments of the Adi community," Apang said.

He said the chief minister has sent thousands of central paramilitary forces despite there being no law and order problem, in order to threaten the innocent villagers. Apang said innocent villagers were made to sign on consent documents with false promises, without letting them know the real purpose of the consent on MoU papers.

"Now, when everything has failed, they are using the police to arrest people who are protesting against the dam," he said.

Apang also termed shameful the summoning of a huge number of Adi women to the Yingkiong police station to question them for protesting against the PFR survey.

"This is being done in order to create a situation of fear among the Adi women community," he said.

The former chief minister said that four leaders of the Adi community were picked up by the police in what he described as a "kidnapping-style operation," and are now under preventive detention. He said this being done in order to suppress the voice of the protesting public and create fear in the minds of the people.

The former chief minister also took serious note of the replacement of officers belonging to the Adi community in administration with officers of other communities, terming it a very dangerous administrative action taken by the government under the leadership of Khandu.

"This proves that they hate Adis and have no trust in Adi officers in the administrative setup of the government," Apang said, alleging that the government is forcing these non-Adi officers to undertake anti-Adi actions, so that a communal feeling is developed among the people of the Siang region towards other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh.

"In fact, Mr Pema Khandu, Chowna Mein and Kiren Rijuju have no sympathy for the Adi community. Had they any goodwill towards the Adi community, they would have never forced the PFR survey on the Adi community," he said.

While also reiterating his demand for immediate withdrawal of the CAPF, permanent cancellation of the PFR and the SUMP, Apang demanded an impartial judicial inquiry by a retired Supreme Court judge on the role of the political leaders in fraudulent signing of MoUs, corruption in the name of PFR survey and the atrocities allegedly committed by the police and CAPF on innocent villagers of Riga, Komkar and Geku.