Next Dalai Lama must be chosen within China; India should not intervene: Chinese authorities
Lhasa/Beijing, Jul 14: The successor of the Dalai Lama has to be decided within China and any interference by India on the issue will impact bilateral ties, Chinese authorities have said.
In the first clear assertion on the sensitive issue, senior Chinese officials and experts said the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must be approved by the Chinese government and the selection should take place within the country based on an over 200-year old historical process.
"The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is a historical, religious and political issue. There are established historical institutions and formalities for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama," Wang Neng Sheng, an official in the rank of vice minister in Tibet, told a small group of Indian journalists in Lhasa.
"The Dalai Lama's reincarnation is not decided by his personal wish or by some group of people living in other countries," he added.
Wang, the director general at the government of Tibet Autonomous Region, said the current Dalai Lama was recognized by Beijing and his successor must be found through the "draw of lots in golden urn process" within China.
Echoing Wang's views, Zha Luo, director at Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Centre, a government-run influential think tank, said any refusal by India to recognise the next Dalai Lama to be chosen within China will impact bilateral ties.
The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following a crackdown on an uprising by the local population in Tibet. India granted him political asylum and the Tibetan government-in-exile is based on Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh since then.
The Dalai Lama is 84 years old now and the issue of his successor has gained prominence in the last couple of years.
"It will be a major political difference that would impact bilateral relations and any wise political leader wouldn't do that," said Zha whose team advises central government on policy issues for Tibet said.
He was asked what will happen if India refuses to recognize the next Dalai Lama chosen by China.
"Since the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is an important issue for China any friendly country or friend of China would not interfere or meddle on the issue," he added.
Zha, however, called it a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question.
India has maintained its stand on the Dalai Lama.
"Government of India's position on His Holiness the Dalai Lama is clear and consistent. He is a revered religious leader and is deeply respected by the people of India. There is no change in that position. His Holiness is accorded all freedom to carry out his religious activities in India," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson had told a media briefings in March last year.
Wang said the process of selecting the next Dalai Lama must follow two clear steps: "It must go to draw of lots in the golden urn and the reincarnation must be recognised by the central government."
He said the "centrality" of the central government must be recognised and that any personal move by the current Dalai Lama on the issue is not going to be recognized by Chinese government or religious followers in Tibet.
"It was with the central government's recognition that the Dalai Lama became the 14th Dalai Lama. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in that position," Wang said.
He alleged that the Dalai Lama has been "inciting" and "misguiding" young Tibetan people for his political motives.
Asked about the Dalai Lama's comments that he was ready to accept Tibet as part of China, Wang said he has been resorting to political rhetoric without taking any action.
"He still believes that Tibet is an independent country. Without any concrete moves from his side, his words do not mean anything," he added.
He said there were around 10 rounds of discussions between private representatives of the Dalai Lama and Beijing. The last round took place in 2011 in Beijing.
"The discussions were about the future of the Dalai Lama and did not include or touch on the topic of future of Tibet as a part of China's sovereign territory," Wang said.
The Indian government had issued a note nearly a year back to senior officials, asking them not to attend events organised by the Tibetan government-in-exile.
India has also been supporting the 'One China' policy, which states that Taiwan and Tibet are part of China's mainland. Beijing made the 'One-China' policy a prerequisite for countries to establish diplomatic ties with it.
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Baramati plane crash: Rohit Pawar alleges attempts to shield VSR Ventures
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday alleged that someone was trying to save VSR Ventures in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and claimed that the AAIB preliminary probe vindicated the doubts earlier raised by him.
He also accused VSR company of indulging in several grave lapses in the past.
The Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures, crashed near the Baramati air strip in Pune district on January 28, killing Pawar and four others.
In its 22-page preliminary report on the VSR Venture's Learjet plane crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the visibility at the time of the crash was below the required level. It also flagged about fading marks on the runway and presence of loose gravels on the runway surface.
Pawar said, "I am not against VSR or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Ajitdada was travelling in a VSR aircraft. Unless we go into the depth of every aspect, we will not know the truth. But someone is trying to save this company. The doubts we had raised have been proven correct in the inquiry report."
He also claimed that the AAIB report contained discrepancies, including mentioning Baramati as a district, and questioned how seriously the probe had been conducted.
Pawar, who has been regularly holding press conferences to raise issues concerning the Baramati plane crash, also contested the report's conclusion that the aircraft hit trees before crashing.
"The report says the aircraft struck trees and then fell. But there are no trees at that spot. There is only a small bush which the aircraft did not even touch. What is stated in the report about hitting trees is incorrect," he said.
Pawar further alleged that VSR Ventures had displayed irresponsibility on multiple occasions, citing an incident involving the then chief minister Eknath Shinde's Davos visit on January 20, 2023.
He claimed that the aircraft carrying Shinde had entered Iranian and Iraqi airspace without overflight permission, following which fighter jets from the two countries allegedly warned of action, forcing a change in route from Bahrain to Zurich.
"There have been several such grave lapses by VSR," he said.
Pawar demanded to know from where VSR Ventures derived its "audacity", and sought details about its investors and officials, though he added that he was not personally concerned with who they were.
Drawing a comparison, he said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken over the probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death within two days, whereas a month had passed since the Baramati crash without a similar action.
He claimed that VSR Ventures had two directors and three shareholders, and that there were eight common names across two related companies.
He further alleged that the owner of VSR was related to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and questioned why the company, though registered in Delhi, had made high-value investments in Jubilee Hills (upscale area in Hyderabad) at rates allegedly Rs 17 crore above the market price.
The MLA representing the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district also raised concerns about the legal and institutional framework of the AAIB under the 2017 rules, claiming it was neither a statutory nor an autonomous body and remained answerable to the secretary and the minister, besides being attached to the DGCA.
"There is no independent investigative agency," he alleged.
