A senior Indian minister has said only the Dalai Lama and the organization he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, in a rare comment contradicting rival China’s long-held position.

NEW DELHI – India has firmly thrown its weight behind the Dalai Lama’s exclusive right to decide his successor, opposing China’s assertion that it holds the final say in the Tibetan spiritual leader’s reincarnation.

Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, is in Dharamshala along with Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh to attend the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday celebrations on July 6.