'Nepal will be 'Hindu state' if Modi takes power'

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal Tuesday said that Nepal will turn into a Hindu state if Narendra Modi becomes India's prime minister.

"He (Modi) is set to come (to) power in India," Singhal told a gathering of Hindus in the eastern Nepali city of Biratnagar.

Once Modi assumes office, it will not take much time to see Nepal as a Hindu state, he said.

Nepal was the world's only Hindu state until 2008 but was declared secular once the Maoists ousted the monarchy.

Since then, a section of Hindu leaders in Nepal and India have campaigned to reinstate Nepal's identity as a Hindu state.

"The day Modi comes to power in India, I declare that Nepal will turn into a Hindu state," said Singhal.

"Under pressure from China, the US, Europe and some Muslim countries, the Hindu identity was finished here," he said.

Singhal was given a rousing welcome in Biratnagar with thousands of Hindu activists gathering to listen to him. - IANS