We Invited His Holiness to Address Indian Parliamentarians: APIPFT
Members of the Indian parliamentary delegation with the ATPD Vice Chairperson |
Dharamsala 14 September: His Holiness the Dalai Lama may address the members of the Indian Parliament in the near future. This was revealed at a press conference held here by Shri. Vashist Narayan Singh, the convenor of the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet. A delegation comprising of members from both the houses of the Indian parliament is on a visit to the town.
Singh said that the forum had proposed its invitation to His Holiness the Dalai Lama who accepted the invitation. However, the venue and the time for it will be decided later. On asked if His Holiness the Dalai Lama will address the parliament, Singh said that his members do not have the right to invite His Holiness to address in the house of the parliament but that it could be arranged in the Parliament Annex or any other venue. ” There is no shortage of space in Delhi”, he said.
Quoting examples of radicalism from the Indian freedom struggle, Mr. Singh said that there may be differing views on Tibet’s future in the Tibetan community itself but that there is a total support for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s leadership.
“We have supported the Tibet cause in the past, we still support and we will do so in the future as well”, Singh assured.
“If you tighten the string of a Veena (Indian musical instrument with strings) too hard it might break and if you keep it too loose it may not produce any melody so the best way is to keep it in the middle of the two extremities”, said one of the members appreciating the Middle Way Approach of the exile Tibetan Administration in resolving the issue of Tibet.
The delegation will call on the 17th Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, the head of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
Meanwhile, the Italian Parliamentary delegation arrived here and called on His Holiness the Dalai Lama today.
“It is for the first time that two parliamentary delegations from two different parts of the world are visiting Dharamsala at the same time”, said Penpa Tsering, member of the Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies, and the executive director of the Delhi based Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre which is coordinating the two visits.