Dharamshala, India — President of the Central Tibetan Administration, Dr Lobsang Sangay met with Jairam Thakur, new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh at the circuit house in Dharamshala, India on Tuesday morning, January 9, 2018. At the meeting, President conveyed greetings and good wishes to the new Chief Minister and his government.
President Dr Lobsang Sangay accompanied by the Finance Kalon Karma Yeshi offered Tibetan ceremonial scarves to the ministers and a thanka, traditional Buddhist applique to the chief minister. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes and was their first face-to-face since Jairam Thakur became the Chief-Minister.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, President Dr Lobsang Sangay said: "We have just come to meet with and make a courtesy call with the new chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Jairam Thakur ji."
"He has a very inspiring background. And it was an honour to meet him. During the meeting, we conveyed our best wishes to him and wished Himachal Pradesh as a state and the new government the very best and peace and prosperity for all."
"We also conveyed to him the best regards of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness is very appreciative of the Himachal Pradesh government. The Chief Minister informed us that he also wants to call on His Holiness the Dalai Lama and I am going to relay the message to His Holiness the Dalai Lama today."
"As I always say, the government and the people of India has done the most for Tibet and the Tibetan people especially Himachal Pradesh because this is where His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been residing for the last 50 years and this is where the Central Tibetan Administration is based," the President said, adding: "It is the love and kindness of the people of Himchal Pradesh for which we remain eternally grateful."
Responding to questions regarding expectations from the new government led by Jairam Thakur, President Dr Lobsang Sangay said: "When I came here for the first time, there was a BJP government. And in between there was a Congress government and now again there is a BJP government."
"The previous BJP governments have always supported the Tibetan people and we hope the support will continue. One of the ministers assured us that everything that needs to be done for the Tibetan people will be continued from the new government," he expressed.
Jairam Thakur was accompanied by the Chief Secretary and several members of his cabinet including Kishan Kapoor, Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affair Minister; Shmt Sarveen Chaudhary, Urban Development Minister; Bikram Singh, Industries Minister; Vipin Singh Parmar, Health and Family Welfare Minister; Rajiv Saizal, Social Justice & Empowerment Minister among others.
