Senior Vice chairman Mohan Baidya Kiran of the Unified Maoists Party has asked Chairman Prachanda aka Pushpa Kamal Dahal of his own party to tender his resignation from the post of the leader of party’s parliamentary delegation.
A point blank demand.
Chairman Dahal in reply told Baidya in a blunt fashion that that he could be unseated only if majority of the Maoists leaders push him to minority.
First time the teacher and his disciple have come face to face.
The Dahal-Baidya verbal duel took place at the party’s steering committee meeting, July 10, 2011. The meeting had only lasted for around 20 minutes. But yet the impact must have been a heavy one.
“Not only as the leader of parliamentary delegation, I will also resign as the party chairman if you can prove majority in your favor and if my resignation is in favor of peace, constitution, revolution, country and people I will certainly quit the current post”, Dahal is quoted as saying by media.
Dahal’s inner pain could be sensed while saying so.
“Let us discuss the bottom-line to be adopted for peace and constitution”, Dahal said and added, “With this we can discuss on matters related with power sharing.”
Bhattarai, on the other hand, claimed that he will very much accept the post only if there was consensus in his favor but will not take part in the voting process.
Moderate Bhattarai.
According to Baidya’s power sharing model, Bhattarai should be elevated as party’s parliamentary delegation Chief and he himself be awarded as the party’s organizational head. In that eventually, if at all that takes a shape, Dahal will be constricted to a titular role in the party.
Dahal and ceremonial role? Forget it.
With Dahal refusing to tender his resignation and also who did not accept the power sharing model proposed by Baidya, the party has convened the central committee meeting, July 13, 2011.
“Whether or not Chairman Prachanda is in a minority, the issue will be appropriately decided by the central committee”, claims Barsaman Pun of Dahal panel.
As far as the question is who is going to lead the government is concerned, let it be clear that Chairman Prachanda will not lead the government, Pun told Annapurna Post.
Similarly, C.P. Gajurel of Baidya panel threatened that, “this time around too if our demands are not addressed by the central committee, we will once again submit our note of dissent.”
Registering note of dissent has become a regular phenomenon inside the Maoists.
“We will observe how Chairman Prachanda presents himself in the upcoming central committee meeting, his acts will eventually determine our future course of action”, declared Gajurel who is no less a hardliner than the declared hardliner-Mohan Baidya.
On the other hand, claims another Maoists leader Dina Nath Sharma, “Party chairman will hold several rounds of discussions with the party leadership much ahead of the CC meeting.
“He will try to bring party leaders into confidence”, so hopes Sharma.
“High-level consensus has already been reached to elevate Bhattarai ji as the country’s prime minister”, also claimed Dinanath and added, “The central committee meeting will ratify the decision in Bhattarai’s favor.”
Talking to the media in Chitwan district, another vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said that positive discussions have taken place in the party paraphernalia in favor of Babu Ram Bhattarai. “Our formal decision will favor Baburam ji.”
Haribol Gajurel of the Dahal panel tells Nayapatrika Daily that the newly found unity between Bhattarai and Baidya panel is an apolitical alliance.
Many believe it to be so but the alliance between two differing political poles remains intact.
He claims, “On ideological and political grounds they have been always at the opposite ends but they surprisingly have come to terms when it comes to sharing of the power.”
“Isn’t it an apolitical alliance”, he concludes.
In love and war, everything is possible and more so politics itself is defined as “art of the possible”, opine political observers.
But the substance is that Dahal is being cornered by his own long time associates. Must have some reason.
Albeit, every unnatural height has a fall ultimately.
Source:http://www.telegraphnepal.com/headline/2011-07-11/nepal-maoists-chief-dahal-losing-grounds-says-if-in-minority-he-will-quit
Democracy and Class Struggle also notes a report on Prachanda in Next Front called Yes he is being challenged here :.
http://thenextfront.com/politics/yes-he-is-being-challenged.html
Also Note Report on Recent Central Committee Meeting Here:
http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2011/07/prachanda-presents-political-dossier.html
