Karnataka: As per the 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile’s program to meet the Governors, Chief Ministers, Speakers and members of State Legislative Assemblies in various states of India and to advocate for Tibet’s cause, a Tibetan parliamentary delegation comprised of Parliamentarians Mr. Pema Delek, Mr. Migyur Dorjee and Ms. Namgyal Dolkar Lhagyari has been advocating for the cause of Tibet in the city of Bangalore, Karnataka over the past one week from Nov 1 to 6.
They arrived at Bangalore from their respective places on Nov 1 and thereafter, called on Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly Sh. K.R.Ramesh Kumar, Assembly Secretary Sh. S. Murthy and Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council Sh. Basavaraj Horatti, who warmly received the Tibetan parliamentary delegation on Nov 3.
On Nov 5, they delegates called on Deputy Chief Minster of Karnataka Dr. G. Parameshwar, Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Sh. Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister for Social Welfare Government of Karnataka Sh. Priyank M. Kharge, Former Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri.Siddaramaiah, President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Sh. Denesh Gundu Rao and 15 of its executive members, President of the Karnataka unit of Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) Sh. Adagur H.Vishwanath, General Secretary of BJP Karnataka Sh. N.Ravi Kumar.
During the meeting with the respective leaders, the delegates elucidated them on the nature, authority and responsibility of Central Tibetan Administration and also on the unparalleled support and facilitation rendered by the people and the government of India to Tibetans, especially ‘Thank You Karnataka’ event held at Bangalore by the five major Tibetan settlements in South India to celebrate the 60 years of friendship, support and hospitality of the People and the State Government of Karnataka towards the Tibetan people.
They also apprised them on the urgent human right and ecological situations inside Tibet and the prevalent hard-line policies adopted by the Chinese government inside Tibet. They explained in great details the five-points appeals of Tibetan parliament-in-exile. They were quite pleased to receive the appeal letter which has been translated in Kannada.
In particular, the delegates congratulated the leaders on India’s election with the highest number of votes by the General Assembly to the influential Human Rights Council of United Nations on Oct 12. They urged them to put pressure on the issues of human rights of Tibetans, to which they responded positively with their strong consent and support. The delegates then presented them with souvenirs of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
Furthermore, they also met with the security officer, who has always took special measures to ensure the safety of His Holiness the Dalai Lama whenever His Holiness visited the state. He has always been available with an ever-ready helping hand and has always kept in close touch with Chief Representative Office (CRO), Bangalore. Therefore, the delegation expressed their profuse gratitude to him and solicited for his continued support to the Tibetan settlers in South and to CRO, Banglaore.
Coinciding the Tibetan parliamentary Tibet-advocacy campaign with Karnataka’s By-Election, the delegates were unable to call on the state’s Chief Minister Sh. H. D.Kumarasamy and Leader of Opposition in eh state’s Legislative Sh. B.S.Yeddyurappa as they were out of station.
Mr. Chophel Thupten, Chief Representative of CTA South Zone and the staffs of his office (CRO) facilitated with necessary assistance in making appointments with the state’s leaders as well as translating Tibetan parliament’s Five-Points Appeal into the official language of four different states.
The delegates shall continue with their Tibet-advocacy campaign in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry respectively.