New Delhi, October 30:

The visiting delegation led by NC-D vice-president Prakashman Singh held separate meetings with senior Congress (I) leader and Indian PM Dr Manmohan Singh’s special envoy to Nepal Dr Karan Singh and the Bharatiya Janata Party president Raj Nath Singh here last evening.

The NC-D leader was here as a guest in a programme to mark the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha. He also met with Indian Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Karan Singh referred to the ongoing political events in Nepal and added he did not believe that the Maoists would join mainstream politics. “Going by the remarks of people whom I met, I feel that the Maoists will not give up their weapons,” he added. Prakashman Singh and other delegates apprised Dr Singh of the recent political events in Nepal. Dr Singh said: “The Maoists are busy in the formation of a parallel government in Nepal’s cities. In such a situation, I do not believe that they will give up their weapons and toe the line of the peace process.”

NC-D leaders Pradip Giri, Deep Kumar Upadhyaya, Arjun Thapa and Udaya Rana of the Tarun Dal buttressed vice-chairman Prakashman Singh’s views. Expressing concern over the delay in unification of the divided two Congress parties, Dr Singh said that the unification of the two Congresses would send a positive signal.

BJP president Rajnath Singh told the Nepali delegation that he did not feel heartened by the Maoists’ activities. “According to information received from various quarters, we don’t feel confident about their intentions,” he said. Singh said the Nepali government and the seven parties were moving ahead sincerely and that the parties were doing their best to give every benefit of doubt to the Maoists. He added that the implementation part was tricky even if an agreement was arrived at. He expressed concern over Hindu kingdom Nepal’s conversion to a secular state.