Parliamentarians across party lines are petitioning the Union government to accord the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, to the Dalai Lama who recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha, Sujeet Kumar, who is behind the effort by MPs for the award of the Bharat Ratna to the Dalai Lama said that the All India Parliamentary Forum for Tibet, of which he is a part has garnered support from over 80 MPs across party lines, and also that of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu. “We haven’t handed over the letter yet to the honourable Prime Minister, we are waiting for signatures to cross at least a 100 to do so,” he said.

Mr. Kumar said that he did not find “anything contradictory” in Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s statement that the Dalai Lama had full rights to recognize his successors through conventions established for the same and the Ministry of External Affairs statement that the government of India did not believe in interfering in religious affairs.

“There is nothing contradictory about what the Indian government and Mr. Rijiju have said. While Mr. Rijiju has said that it is the Dalai Lama’s right to appoint a successor, the Indian government’s statement that it doesn’t interfere in these matters, means the same,” he said.

Mr. Kumar had harsh words for the Chinese government’s statement that it was in that government’s remit to regulate the choice of successor by the Dalai Lama. “It is highly ironical that an atheist nation would express such strong opinions on what is purely a religious issue,” he said. He added that the procedure for the recognition of the successor to the Dalai Lama was “many centuries old” and the Indian government’s stance on not running interference was a correct one and not different from Mr. Rijiju’s statement.