Kathmandu, November 11
Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was seated alongside a man who could have been the ‘Tibetan leader in exile’ Lobsang Sangay.
A photo (above) made available by the organisers of the Indian Ideas Conclave in Goa (Nov 4-6), an event in which Deuba delivered his address, shows the NC leader seated next to a man who appears to be Sangay (extreme left, out of foucs), who, according to photos, was also present during the programme.
It is still not clear whether the two met, or even acknowledged each other’s presence.
The event’s brochure says Sangay was one of the invited speakers while Deuba was one of the main guests of the programme.
Deuba, who returned home on Thursday, claims he did not meet Sangay, and headed to his hotel immediately after addressing the programme; he did not attend the entire conference. He also rubbished reports that he met any Tibetan leader, and lashed out at the media for trying to defame him.
China maintains that Tibet is an integral part of its territory and under its ‘One China’ policy, it stands against any form of engagement with the ‘leaders in exile’ by foreign leaders.
