Union minister and former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh, on Monday slammed the state police for "leaking details of investigations" regarding the alleged seizure of foreign currency from the monastery of the Karmapa Lama.
"The HP government did not handle the matter properly. It failed in its duty to handle such a delicate matter," said Singh, the minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Singh added it was wrong to brand anyone as a Chinese agent even before the probe in the case was complete. "It is unfair to do such branding when the probe is still going on. Let us all not forget that the Karmapa has been recognised by the Dalai Lama," the minister said. Asked whether he was defending the Karmapa, Singh replied: "I have never met him in my life and it is not a question of defending anyone. I don’t know about the charges against him, which need to be probed. My point is the issue has been unnecessarily sensationalised."
Karmapa Lama, the third highest-ranking Tibetan religious leader after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, has been in the eye of storm following the recovery of currency worth nearly Rs7 crore from his premises. The 25-year-old, whose real name is Ogyen Trinely Dorje and is widely tipped to replace the aging Dalai Lama, is also facing allegations of having links with China.
{{/usCountry}}Karmapa Lama, the third highest-ranking Tibetan religious leader after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, has been in the eye of storm following the recovery of currency worth nearly Rs7 crore from his premises. The 25-year-old, whose real name is Ogyen Trinely Dorje and is widely tipped to replace the aging Dalai Lama, is also facing allegations of having links with China.
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