Centre clarifies stand on Nepal in House

Referring to the recent meeting that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he had with King Gyanendra in Bandung, the minister said: ‘‘The King told us that he would release prisoners, lift censorship, permit telecast of Indian TV channels and gradually go in for elections. He said he just needed time.’’

Sounding what was perceived as a warning shot to Nepal, Singh said: ‘‘We have all the leverages of this unique relationship (with Nepal), only we have not used them so far.’’

The issue was raised by Nilotpal Basu of the CPI(M) during Zero Hour. Basu said Nepalese authorities had brutally attacked mourners at the cremation of Sadhan Pradhan, leader of the Nepalese Communist party, UML. In an indirect reference to the PM’s assurance to Gyanendra on resumption of arms supply, Basu said: ‘‘India should not be seen as supporting a regime that is going berserk.’’ He said his party was not against engaging the King but at the same time, ‘‘we can not afford to put all the eggs in a single basket.”