RANCHI: The North-East zone Tibetan Parliamentary delegation wrapped up its fourth leg of the lobby campaign in Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand state that is now under the President’s rule.
Jharkhand faced political instability after Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ruling coalition partner Jharkhand Mukta Morcha (JMM) formally withdrew its support on January 8. Consequently, Chief Minister Shri Arjun Munda tendered in his resignation to the Governor, the State Assembly faced suspension and the Union Cabinet called for President’s rule in the State.
Governor Dr Syed Ahmed, the interim ruler of the State received the delegation at Raj Bhavan on January 24. The Governor expressed his ‘love and admiration for the Tibetan spirit’ and said that he will ‘stand by the cause and extend full cooperation towards the needs of the Tibetan leadership.’
Shri Arjun Munda, the former Chief Minister of the State welcomed the delegation at the Chief Minister’s House. Shri Munda said that ‘the Government and people of India will never support the wrongdoings of the Chinese Government’ and that ‘in today’s world, every individual is entitled to freedom and to freely determine one’s future.’ The former Chief Minister pledged the support of his party (BJP) for the ‘All-Party Parliamentary resolution on the Tibet crisis.’
The delegation also met with Shri Hemant Soren, the former deputy Chief Minister of the State. Shri Soren said that ‘the spirit and perseverance of the Tibetan people towards the struggle has made it impossible for Indian people to disassociate with the cause.’ In his capacity as the vice-president of Jharkhand Mukti Morchan party (JMM), Shri Soren assured the support of his party for the ‘All-Party Parliamentary resolution on the Tibet crisis.’
An exclusive meeting with the speaker of Assembly Shri Chandrashekar Prakash Singh was held. The speaker said that ‘no one will dither from supporting the noble cause of Tibet as it is a human crusade against atrocity.’
The delegation held a series of meetings with political leaders: chief of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha party (JMM), first Chief Minister of Jharkhand and current member of Lok Sabha Shri Babulal Marandi, state president of Congress party and member of Rajya Sabha Dr. Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu, and state president of BJP Shri Dineshanand Goswami. They assured ‘unyielding support towards the Tibetan freedom movement’ and avowed support for the tabling of an ‘All-Party Parliamentary resolution on the Tibet crisis.’
On January 25, the delegation organized a press conference at the Gulmarg Hall, Hotel Chinar. An evening ‘solidarity rally’ was organized by the Potala Market Association and led by the parliamentary delegation. More than 100 Tibetans and Indian supporters marched from Town Hall to Ranchi University.
The other MLAs of Jharkhand with whom the delegation couldn’t engage in a direct face-to-face meeting were apprised of the campaign and its goals through a memorandum sent via priority mail.
The 4-member delegation led by former speaker and member of TPIE, Mr. Pema Jungney, include Mr. Serta Tsultrim, Ms. Yangchen Dolkar and Ms. Dhardon Sharling. While deeming the steadfast support of the Indian Government and its people towards the Tibetan people as significant, the delegation appealed the Indian leaders for substantial and public expressions of solidarity and support amid the unprecedented spate of self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet and the subsequent deepening crackdown by Chinese Government. The delegates also urged India to engage in urgent diplomatic actions pressuring the Chinese Government on various fronts.
After a successful lobbying work in West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand the delegation will visit Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Sikkim and Nagaland for the ‘All -India lobby campaign.’