Maoists' harsh rebuttal to BJP remarks

A senior Maoist leader has termed the latest derision by India's main opposition as purely "anti-Nepalese".
Influential CPN (Maoist) leader Ram Bahadur Thapa, who also goes with the nom de guerre of Badal, said that by making this remark public Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has "directly intervened in Nepal's internal affairs".
According to Indian media reports, BJP indicated that Maoists gaining power in Nepal "was fraught with dangerous consequences for India" and also dubbed as a "negative" step the turning of the Hindu country into a secular republic. The party also claimed that with just one-third popular votes, the CPN (Maoists) cannot form the government.
"The new government to be formed under Maoist leadership in Nepal is against India's interest and also poses security threat to India", reports quoted senior BJP leader and former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh as saying in New Delhi, clarifying that the BJP stands on CPN-M had "nothing to do with the continuance or not of monarchy" in Nepal.
Maoist leader said that by making such statements BJP has only laid bare India's "expansionist dreams".
"BJP doesn't have the right to speak on Nepalese matters," Badal said, adding, "all should be aware that it (BJP) was in favor of monarchy (in Nepal) in the past too and its latest remarks have clearly shown what it wants here."
The senior Maoist strategist said that the party would come up with a viewpoint on this by holding both internal and external meetings