The two coordinators of Drukyul karzay tshethar tshogpa, Yeshi Dorji (also know as Sangay Wangdi) and Karsang claimed that they will file a defamation case against the chairperson of the Trashigang dzongkhag tshogdu, Kinzang Dorji, who is also the Kanglung gup.

Yeshi Dorji, who leads the tshogpa, said that gup Kinzang Dorji has made false allegations against him and his colleague Karsang on the social media platform, WeChat. “Kanglung gup Kinzang Dorji have said that my colleague Lama Karsang and I are not genuine spiritual leaders and that we are cheating the public.”

He claimed the gup has accused him of being expelled from Sherubtse College, where he was a lecturer, for his misbehaviours. “But I don’t agree with it.”

Yeshi Dorji said that he voluntarily resigned and it wasn’t because of any other reasons as alleged by the gup. “If I was expelled from the college, there must be written documents to prove that. I want the gup to provide those evidences.”

He also claimed that gup Kinzang Dorji has also alleged Yeshi Dorji of entering a girls hostel at the college and being caught by a matron. “He also said that I was put into prison because of some wrongdoings in Rongthong,” he said. “If these statements are true, I want the gup to prove with documents that I was involved in such incidents and I actually was put behind bars.”

Yeshi Dorji said that the gup has also accused him of misusing the funds collected for saving the lives of he animals. “So far more than 300 animals have been rescued by the tshogpa. If the gup thinks we have misused the money we would want him to take the responsibility of taking care of the animals henceforth.”

He said that about Nu 50,000 is spent monthly to feed the animals and to give salaries for the three caretakers employed to look after the animals in Gelephu.

Yeshi Dorji said that accusing him with false allegations is not appropriate and it has gravely affected him, his colleague and the members of his tshogpa. “He cannot blatantly accuse us of such actions which we have not committed at all. Most of his talks are baseless.”

Meanwhile, gup Kinzang Dorji said that when he found out that the two individuals claiming to be spiritual masters were Yeshi Dorji and Karsang, whom he knew personally, he could not keep the facts to himself. “As a gup and chairperson of a dzongkhag tshogdu and an elected leader, it is my responsibility to tell the truth to the public who were being misled by them.”

He said that the statements he made on WeChat were all based on incidents he had witnessed personally. “I have nothing against the two individuals. My only issue is that I don’t think they are genuine lams.”

Gup Kinzang Dorji said that local leaders at the dzongkhag tshogdu all shared the concern over the authenticity of the two individuals, which is why it proposed that the Department of Culture intervene and conduct an investigation to validate their legitimacy.

Younten Tshedup | Trashigang