(TibetanReview.net, Dec23’21) – The revival has been announced of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPFT) during a reception Dec 22 held in The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi. It took place during a lobbying effort of a five-member delegation of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile which called on 38 lawmakers during the just concluded session of the Indian parliament.
The event was hosted by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in coordination with New Delhi-based India Tibet Coordination Office (ITCO). Mr Sujeet Kumar, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Odisha is the Convener of the Forum.
Two government of India ministers attended the reception, namely Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & Information Technology, and Mr Ramdas Athawale, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Rajya Sabha (Upper House) members who attended the reception included Mr KC Ramamurthy (Karnataka), Mr Swapan Dasgupta (West Bengal), Mr Sujeet Kumar (Odisha), and Mr Jairam Ramesh (Karnataka).
Lok Sabha (Lower House) members who attended the reception included Ms Maneka Gandhi (Uttar Pradesh), Mr Janardan Singh Sigriwal (Bihar), Mr Chandeshwar Prasad (Bihar), Mr Manish Tewari (Punjab), Mr Chandeshwar Prasad (Bihar), and Ms Pratibha Singh (Himachal Pradesh).
Mr RK Khrimey from the National Convener of Core Group for Tibetan Cause and former Parliament member also attended the reception, as did the Tibetan Parliament delegation members (Serta Tsultrim, Geshe Lharampa Gowo Lobsang Phende, Lhagyari Namgyal Dolkar, Geshe Atong Rinchen Gyaltsen, and Choedak Gyatso, besides Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel) and others.
Those who spoke at the event included Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Ms Lhagyari Namgyal Dolkar, APIPFT Convener Sujeet Kumar, and Jairam Ramesh, following an introductory address by ITCO Director Mr Jigme Tsultrim.