China denies claim of easing ban on Dalai Lama worship in Tibet

China has denied reports about lifting the ban on worshipping the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lama, which has been restricted for years in the Chinese region.

The Chinese government has denied the claims that the ban has been eased out and Buddhists in China's Tibetan areas were able to worship the Dalai Lama openly and that some temples could display portraits of the Dalai Lama and no one was allowed to criticise him, BBC reports.

According to the report, the Dalai Lama fled in 1959 after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule and has been staying in Dharamshala in northern India, traveling the world seeking support for the rights of the Tibetan people.

Senior Communist officials have infuriated Tibetan Buddhists by referring to the Dalai Lama with a series of derogatory names and in one instance, Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party chief in charge of Tibet until 2011, referred to him as 'a wolf in monk's robes'.

The Chinese monasteries have insisted that their policy towards Dalai Lama is 'consistent and clear' and there have not been any changes to it adding that if Dalai Lama wants to improve its relations with the central government he must give up his stance on 'Tibetan independence' or independence in any form.

China has accused Dalai Lama of dividing Tibet with its separate culture and language from the rest of the China, whereas the leader argues that he merely wants greater autonomy.