Advani's view on monarchy personal: Ex-Nepalese PM

Kathmandu, Mar 25 (UNI) Former Nepalese Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa said BJP leader L K Advani's view on the relevance of monarchy in Nepal was his personal opinion.

''It would be overshadowed by people's verdict,'' Mr Thapa said.

Mr Advani expressed in his autobiography ''My life, My Country'' that constitutional monarchy should be protected in Nepal, writing that monarchy is a symbol of the Himalayan nation's sovereignty and unity.

He said people themselves would formally bid farewell to monarchy after the April 10 Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.

''The people themselves are all set to bid goodbye to monarchy from the country forever as the King tried to impose autocracy on them,'' Kantipur quoted the Rastriya Janashakti Party Chairman, known to be close to the monarchy in his home constituency Dhankuta, as saying yesterday.

When asked about the King's plea to him to save monarchy, he said, ''I had reminded him that people would throw monarchy from the country if he tried to impose autocracy. But the King did not listen to my suggestion due to his stubborn nature.'' My candidacy was an additional effort to materialise people's dream of making a new Nepal, he said.

Mr Thapa was Prime Minister for many years in the Himalayan nation specially during the King's rule.

Nepal is holding the CA polls for the first time to write a new constitution.

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