Nepal's constitutional crisis worries BJP

New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday voiced concern over the constitutional crisis in neighbouring Nepal, terming it a "serious setback".

"Major political parties and their leaders in Nepal have not been able to form any consensus on major issues despite repeated assurances that they would deliver a fully democratic constitution to meet the people's aspiration...," former BJP president Rajnath Singh said in a statement.

"A failure to honour such promises would be a serious setback to Nepal's quest for peace, democracy, political stability and economic prosperity," he said.

The term of Nepal's constituent assembly expired Sunday, and despite several extensions, the political parties of the Himalayan nation have not been able to frame the constitution.

"The BJP appeals to the Nepalese people not to let their society and country be divided on caste and ethnic lines as it has all along had a glorious past that practised cultural, religious and ethnic harmony," Rajnath Singh said.