Sujeet Kumar MP: ‘Personally speaking, I don’t consider Tibet to be a part of China’

New Delhi, Jan 8 (UNI) Sujeet Kumar, BJD MP and convenor of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet, has lashed out at the Political Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy for “daring” to write to Indian MPs ticking them off for attending an event organised by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
In a statement, the Biju Janata Dal MP, says the Chinese embassy could have raised its protest through official channels.
He also said that he personally does not consider Tibet to be a part of China.
The MP said the Parliamentary Forum on Tibet is to support the cause of Tibetan cultural and religious beliefs, and is between the people of India and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, and that too much politics should not be read into it.
He also added that the stated goals of the Parliamentary Forum is not to advocate for the independence of Tibet or anything controversial, but build a relationship between the
Government-in-exile the people of India because of the shared history, shared civilization and linkages.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has slammed the Chinese attempt at trying to bully the Indian MPs from attending the event.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, at a media briefing on Thursday, had termed as “inappropriate” the “substance, tone and tenor of the letter” written by the Chinese Political Counsellor to Indian MPs.
“The Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and Honourable Members of Parliament as representatives of the people undertake activities as per their views and beliefs. We expect the Chinese side to refrain from hyping normal activities by Honourable Members of Parliament and complicate further the situation in our bilateral relations,” he had said on Thursday.
Sujeet Kumar, in his statement reacting to the Chinese diplomat’s letter, said: “Who is the Political Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy to write to a Member of Parliament of India, the largest democracy? How dare you send letters to Indian MPs? If anything, you can raise your protest through official channels. I think the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) should take a stand.”
“Personally speaking, I don’t consider Tibet to be a part of China. That is separate because the Government of India’s official policy is different. But this Parliamentary Forum on Tibet is to support the cause of Tibetan cultural and religious beliefs, and is between the people of India and the Tibetan government-in-exile. One should not read too much politics into it.”
“The stated goals of the Parliamentary Forum is not to advocate for the independence of Tibet or anything controversial. It is largely to build a relationship between the government-in-exile and the people of India because of the shared history, shared civilization and linkages.. because of Buddhism, because of trade between Tibet and India in the past. The idea is to build on those linkages. I think I have already received four or five letters from the Embassy. I gave them befitting replies, too.”
Last month, Zhou Yongsheng, the Political Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, had written to several Indian MPs who had attended the Tibetan Government-in-Exile event, asking them to “refrain from providing support to the ‘Tibetan independent’ forces” and instead ”make contributions to China-India bilateral relations”.
He went on to claim that Tibet has been “an inseparable part of China since ancient times, and Tibet related affairs are purely China’s internal affairs that allow no foreign interference.”
In response, the Tibetan government in exile rejected Beijing’s contention that Tibet has always been a part of China.
“Historically Tibet has never been a part of China. Since the illegal and violent occupation of Tibet, China has oppressed the Tibetans under its brutal and draconian policy,” it said in a statement.
It said that Tibetans living inside Tibet are deprived of their fundamental rights and the situation inside Tibet remains grim till date.
At least six MPs had attended the dinner reception on December 22 at a hotel in Delhi, including Union MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Maneka Gandhi and KC Ramamurthy, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, and BJD’s Sujeet Kumar.
The Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, also attended.