Haven't run any official campaign seeking Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama: RSS

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Sunday denied running any official campaign regarding Bharat Ratna, in what can be called a clarification against Tawang district RSS leader Lhundup Chosang's crusade for awarding the country's highest civilian honour to Nobel Laureate and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

"The RSS has not run any official campaign regarding the Bharat Ratna. And if any worker from any state has run a campaign, we have no information. The government takes such decisions; the union does not talk too much about it," RSS media coordinator Rajeev Tuli said.

The campaign was launched on April 6, a day before the Dalai Lama reached Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in the face of protests by China.

Chosang, who is spearheading the campaign, said they had collected around 5,000 signatures and were planning to submit their plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after getting 25,000 signatures, while asserting that the Dalai Lama deserved the Bharat Ratna.

An online campaign has also been going on, seeking the award for the Dalai Lama.