India objects to letter by Chinese embassy to MPs

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India on Thursday conveyed its strong objection to the letter written by Chinese embassy to a group of Members of Parliament for attending a dinner reception hosted by Tibetan Parliament-in-exile and said the “substance, tone and tenor of the letter is inappropriate”.

India also said that the Chinese side should refrain from hyping normal activities by MPs and “complicate further” the situation in bilateral relations.

External Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at the weekly media briefing in.response to a query that Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and parliamentarians as representatives of people undertake activities as per thier views.

“We have seen the reports about the Political Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy writing letters to Honorable Members of Parliament on their participation in an event. The substance, tone and tenor of the letter are inappropriate,” he said.

“Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and Hon’ble MPs, as representatives of the people, undertake activities as per their views and beliefs. We expect the Chinese side to refrain from hyping normal activities by Hon’ble MPs and complicate further the situation in our bilateral relations,” he added.

The dinner reception in December was attended by MPs cutting across party lines including BJD’s Sujeet Kumar, convenor of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Maneka Gandhi and Congress MPs Jairam Ramesh and Manish Tewari.

Zhou Yongsheng, Political Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Delhi, had in his letter expressed “concern” over the MPs attending the event.

“You are a senior politician who know the China-India relations well. It is hoped that you could understand the sensitivity of the issue and refrain from providing support to the “Tibetan independence” forces, and make contributions to China-India bilateral relations,” he had said.

Reacting to it Tenzin Lekshay, the spokesperson of the Tibetan government-in-exile, slammed China.

“India’s constant solidarity for Tibet makes China uneasy. As for the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet, it was initiated by Shri MC Chagla in 1970 and now chaired by BJD MP Sujeet Kumar. Many great Indian leaders supported Tibet in the past, & many more support now,” he said in a tweet. (ANI)