India unfazed, Dalai Lama event on

New Delhi: India on Friday dismissed China’s veiled warning not to allow Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh in April, saying “there is no reason to stop him.”

China had, earlier on Friday, said that its position on China-India border dispute is consistent and clear, and India’s decision to “provide a platform to the Dalai clique” would cause “serious damage” to bilateral ties.

Responding to China’s statement, Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju said, “He (Dalai Lama) is going there as a religious leader, there is no reason to stop him. His devotees are demanding he should come, what harm can he do? He is a lama.”

Mr Rijiju was also quoted by Reuters as saying, “The Dalai Lama will be a guest of the Arunachal Pradesh government and, as a devotee, I will meet him in Tawang.”

Mr Rijiju, who represents the Arunachal-West Lok Sabha constituency under which Tawang falls, called this defiance a “behavioural change” for India which was being “more assertive”.

Reports from Beijing quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang as saying, “China is gravely concerned over information that India has granted permission to the Dalai to visit Arunachal Pradesh. China is strongly opposed to the Dalai visiting disputed areas… Under such a background if India invites the Dalai to visit to the mentioned territory, it will cause serious damage to peace and stability of border region and China-India relations.”

New Delhi’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal was reported in October last year. China covets Arunachal which it refers to as “South Tibet”. The Chinese hostility to the Dalai Lama is also well-known.

The Dalai Lama will be in the north-eastern state from April 4, where, according to reports, he will be hosted by the Tawang monastery and will be meeting his followers.

Last year, regarding the Dalai Lama’s proposed visit to Arunachal in April, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) had said that he is a “guest of India” and is free to travel across the country. “The Dalai Lama is a revered spiritual figure and an honoured guest of India. He is absolutely free to travel to any part of the country. It is a fact that he has a sizeable following among the Buddhists in Arunachal Pradesh who like to seek his blessings. He has visited the state in the past as well and we see nothing unusual if he visits again,” the MEA had said.

In December, China had objected to a meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Pranab Mukherjee, but New Delhi had dismissed it saying the meeting was at a “non-political event organised by Nobel laureates dedicated to the welfare of children”.

In the past, China has also objected to a visit by then US ambassador Richard Verma to Arunachal and a visit of a Taiwanese delegation to New Delhi.