Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Monday apologised after a video showing him kissing a minor boy on his lips and then asking him to ‘suck his tongue’ sparked a row. The video, which has gone viral on social media platforms, evoked a furious response from the netizens.

The video shows the Dalai Lama kissing the child on his lips as the latter leaned in to pay his respects. After a few second, the Tibetan spiritual leader can be seen pointing to his mouth and sticking his tongue out. "Can you suck my tongue," the Dalai Lama can be heard asking the minor boy in the video.

A tweet from Dalai Lama’s official Twitter handle on Monday said, “A video has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”