Ignoring Chinas objections,West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan on Thursday attended a programme at Taj Bengal on Mother Teresa addressed by the Dalai Lama who was dismissive of Beijings opposition to him,saying it was quite routine. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,who was scheduled to attend the event on Mother Teresa,could not do so as her mother was unwell but deputed Trinamool Congress MP Derek O Brien for it. His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Thursday described the objection against allowing a platform for him to speak in India as a special blessing from the Chinese. His holiness said: Anywhere in the world I go to deliver a lecture,I receive this kind of special blessings from Chinese agents. This is a routine thing,and nothing special. He was responding to the official note the Chinese Consulate in Kolkata had given to the chief secretary of West Bengal government on November 29,stating the government should not give any patronage to the Dalai Lama and that the state Governor and Chief Minister should skip his engagements in the city. Attending the event on behalf of the CM,Brien said,The illness of the CMs mother is the only reason she could not attend the programme and that she has conveyed goodwill to His Holiness not only from the people of Kolkata but from the people of Bengal. At the state secretariat in Writers Building,a spokesman for the government said the letter from the Chinese Consulate was referred to the MEA and the Chinese officials were also told that it was a bilateral matter and they should talk to the Government of India regarding any objection they had. Though the Chinese officials left after having submitted the official note of dissent,they kept on ringing the state Home office asking if any advisory was received from the MEA in this regard by the state government. We stuck to our schedule and there was no change, said the state government spokesperson. The Dalai Lama on Thursday gave a lecture on Mother Teresa and also addressed a gathering at the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata. China discards me as a demon with horns. They always think I will deliver something anti-Chinese which is short-sighted policy. This year in March I officially handed over the political leadership and am no longer leader of political administration. So,I dont like to politicise my visit here, he added. At IIM-C,the Dalai Lama said,Unfortunately,China which is great nation has a system of hypocrisy. China can do much more constructive thing,but the system is not good. But we do keep our optimism alive.
