Only Dalai Lama can decide successor: Kiren Rijiju

Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday asserted that only the current Dalai Lama and the conventions established by him can determine his successor, making it clear that India stands by the Tibetan spiritual leader's decision.

Rijiju, a Buddhist himself, along with Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, will represent India, on the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday event in Dharamshala on July 6. Rijiju said the birthday celebrations of the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala "is purely a religious event" not a "political one."

On Wednesday, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue and only the Gaden Phodrang Trust will have the authority to appoint his future reincarnation.


"Reincarnation has to be decided by the established conventions and the desire of the present Dalai Lama. No one else has the right to decide on the next Dalai Lama. It is the most defining institution for all Tibetans and all those who follow the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism," Rijiju said.

His statement comes after China said Dalai Lama's reincarnation must be approved by the Chinese government, rejecting the Nobel Peace laureate's succession plan.