Jaswant Singh

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday dropped "constitutional monarchy" as one of the two necessary "pillars" of any future political framework in Nepal and softened its stand towards the Maoists.

Speaking to journalists here former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh was silent on any role for the King although on April 22 he had said that a "constitutional monarchy and an effective functional democracy" were "two pillars of equal importance in the Himalayan State." On April 25, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani had in a statement suggested reconciliation and normalisation in Nepal with a "constructive partnership between all democracy-loving forces and the King."

When asked about the change in attitude, Mr. Singh justified the earlier stand saying "at that time" when he had spoken about the "two pillars" the stance of the Government of India was also similar. He said Nepal was a sovereign country and it was "for the people of Nepal to think about constitutional monarchy."

Mr. Singh was willing to concede a political role for Maoists provided they "lay down their arms and unequivocally commit themselves to democratic functioning." He said Maoists "cannot be simultaneously revolutionaries with arms and practising democrats."

He also distanced his party's view from that of the pro-monarchy stand of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, adding that any questions related to the Sangh Parivar view should be addressed to "them (in the RSS)."

Mr. Singh hinted that as a result of the "fast forward" pace of developments in Nepal his own planned visit had been put on hold.

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