Six Indian lawmakers, led by Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar, attended a dinner event organised by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, infuriating expansionist China, which illegally seized Tibet.

Apart from Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Maneka Gandhi and KC Ramamurthy, Congress MPs Jairam Ramesh and Manish Tewari, and BJD’s Sujeet Kumar all attended a similar event on December 22 at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi. The occasion was attended by Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.

MPs attended the Tibetan Outreach Campaign programme as part of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet, according to the Tibetan Parliament’s website (APIPFT). The show lasted for more than a week. Other members of Parliament who were at the event included minister Ramdas Athawale, Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Swapan Dasgupta, Chandeshwar Prasad, Suresh Kumar Kashyap, Sabtagiri Ulka, and Rani Pratibha Singh.

Ministers and MPs engaging in the official Tibetan programme is significant divergence from the Centre on Tibet-related Program’s February 22, 2018 advice. In the guidance, the Centre advised senior leaders and government officials to avoid attending gatherings hosted by Tibetan authorities due to the deterioration of bilateral relations.

The Political Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in India, Zhou Yongsheng, sent protest letters to MPs, requesting that they refrain from supporting the ‘Tibetan independence forces.’ China is infamous for breaking diplomatic conventions. However. The BJD MP and convener of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPFT) snubbed China for daring to write to MPs after China sent a letter of protest to them.

MPs refuse to write letters to the Chinese Embassy in Beijing.

Sujeet Kumar, a BJD MP who has been chosen as the new head of APIPFI, has slammed the Chinese Embassy for sending an undiplomatic letter to MPs directly.

B Sujeet Kumar questioned how the Chinese Embassy’s Political Counsellor could write a letter to members of the Indian Parliament, which represents the world’s greatest democracy. “How dare you write letters to Indian legislators?” If anything, you can use official means to express your dissatisfaction. Kumar believes the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) to take a stand.

Because of their shared history, civilization, Buddhism, and trade, he added, the Parliamentary forum’s stated goal was to develop a relationship between the government-in-exile and the people of India. The primary concept, he explained, was to build on such connections. He revealed that the Chinese Embassy sent him four or five letters, to which he responded appropriately. He also stated that Tibet is not considered to be a part of China.

The Chinese Political Counsellor also sent a letter to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. He claimed he came to the event because of his strong affection for the Lord Buddha, deep respect for the Dalai Lama, and Tibetan sources’ contribution to the rediscovery of India’s Buddhist legacy.

On the other hand, Union minister Chandrasekhar stated he was a part of the Indo-Tibetan Parliamentary Forum, which is chaired by BJP veteran Shanta Kumar. He was invited to the occasion and ate dinner there.

In 1970, APIPFT was formed.

APIFT was founded in 1970 by Mohomedali Currim Chagla to advocate for Tibet’s cause with the help of notable Indian parliamentarians. Madhu Limaye, George Fernandes, Rabi Ray, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, T.N. Chaturvedi, Mohan Singh, and Satyavrat Chaturvedi were among the veterans parliamentarians involved in this.

Tibetans have a second home in India.

The Dalai Lama arrived in India on March 17, 1959, after a failed revolt against the Communist government in Lhasa. In exile in Dharamshala, where he also lives, he established his administration. Around 140,000 Tibetans are presently living in exile, with over 100,000 of them in India. Tibet is home to around six million Tibetans.