Bardhan, Nirmala Deshpande object to NSA's comments on Nepal

New Delhi, Apr 3 (UNI) CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan and Ms Nirmala Deshpande, MP, today took strong exception to National Security Advisor M K Narayanan's reported remark that India would favour the Nepali Congress winning the elections, rather than the Maoists.

''It is not proper for any official of government of India to express preference for any party in the coming elections of Nepal,'' the two leaders said in a statement, without naming the NSA.

It was for the people of Nepal to exercise their will to decide the composition of the constituent assembly, they said.

However, when contacted by UNI, Ms Deshpande said their statement was in response to the comments of the NSA which were carried by a television channel.

She regretted that it was for the first time that India had taken such a stand in favour of the Nepali Congress which was against the interest of New Delhi. It was also unfortunate that Mr Narayanan had expressed his view that India's confidence in the Maoists was considerably low.

UNI SKS LS KP1957