RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is on a five-day visit to Kangra and Dharamshala.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala on Monday.
The meeting which was held at the residence of the Dalai Lama lasted for an hour. After the meeting, the president of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, and his cabinet and speaker of Tibetan parliament-in-exile, Sonam Temphel also met the RSS chief.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Tsering said, "His holiness has started meeting with the public since 15th of this month and I was the first to be offered that opportunity. Today, Mohan Bhagwat ji, Sarsanghchalak of RSS, was here. According to him, it is very natural that when he is in Dharamshala he should visit His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I think, on the part of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, it's also natural that he meets the prominent leaders representing a large number of the Indian population."
He further said, "It's an opportunity for us to thank government and people of India for the support that the consecutive governments of India and people of India have rendered to us. So it's natural and then both are eminent leaders. I was not at the meeting but I am sure that they must have talked about the larger interest of humanity on major issues and after that my cabinet, speaker of the Tibetan parliament and I took an opportunity to give him a courtesy call and thank the government and people of India for their support. We also discussed the status of Independent Tibet before China's occupation and he assured us all the support from the public."
During his five-day visit to Kangra and Dharamshala, the RSS chief yesterday attended a seminar in Kangra where about 60 intellectuals were invited including Speaker of Tibetan parliament-in-exile, Mr Tenphel.
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