New Delhi: With China on Friday warning India against allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh next month , saying it would cause “serious damage” to the bilateral ties, Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju told a news agency that New Delhi has become more “assertive”, describing it as a “behavioural change”.
He also said there was “no reason” to stop the Dalai Lama from visiting Arunachal Pradesh in April. 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. India had in December last dismissed Chinese objections to a meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Pranab Mukherjee, saying the meeting was at a “non-political event organised by Nobel laureates dedicated to the welfare of children”.
