While I am tempted to say Girija babu has gone senile, because that's what a part of me sometimes feels, I think the real issue here is the Congress can't seem to make up its mind on where it stands on the issue of Monarchy. I bet you there will be revisions and clarifications of this statement in the days to come. In my opinion, the Congress stands to gain from a republic for reasons I have explained in other threads, but they don't seem to see it that way. Oh well ...