“There were always two pillars of Indo-Nepal relations. That were the constitutional monarchy and an elective democracy. It is for the people of Nepal to decide. I am not suggesting that the solution to Nepal is return to monarchy. The BJP’s position is not based on that. The BJP’s criterion is India’s larger interest.”________________
by Faraz Ahmad in New Delhi
(June 03, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The BJP is very unhappy with the ending of monarchy in Nepal. In an unusual move, the two-day national executive of the BJP, currently going on here, adopted a separate resolution on international affairs, castigating the Indian government for not doing enough to prevent the rise of forces in the neighbourhood, that BJP leader Jaswant Singh described as “inimical to Indian interests”.
In the normal course during every successive national executive meeting, the party briefly touched upon international affairs in the resolution. Drawing a parallel between the Communist Party of India-Maoist and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), Jaswant Singh said, “Nepal under communists is not at all in the interest of India.”
The former external affairs minister avoided a direct reply when asked if he and his party were upset with the ending of monarchy and the declaration of Nepal as a secular republic.
He, however, said, “There were always two pillars of Indo-Nepal relations. That were the constitutional monarchy and an elective democracy. It is for the people of Nepal to decide. I am not suggesting that the solution to Nepal is return to monarchy. The BJP’s position is not based on that. The BJP’s criterion is India’s larger interest.”
Asked whether he approved of a secular government in Nepal, Jaswant Singh said, “I find no reason whatsoever to call Nepal a Hindu kingdom. As an Indian sanatan dharmi I feel that there is nothing more secular than sanatan dharma. So this is a very negative development. As an Indian and sanatan dharmi I feel diminished.”
The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha denied that his party was rejecting the popular mandate in the Himalayan state. He said, “The question is not of rejecting the popular mandate. The question is of stability. The repercussions of this are very serious, and referred to the oft-stated government view of the existence of “an artery” of Maoists extending from north to south, which poses a threat to India’s internal security.
The seven-page BJP resolution stated that, “The BJP expresses its satisfaction about the recent elections in Nepal.” Jaswant Singh regretted that “the UPA government rushed through the elections in Nepal in a great hurry” and that these were held under a lot of intimidation by the Maoists. “Even European Union team said these were not proper elections,” he said.
The resolution stated that, “It is the BJP’s charge that the union government has been derelict in its duties, violative of its oath of office to safeguard the country’s interests and has abdicated its responsibility by outsourcing its foreign and security policies to the communists.”
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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