Baidya document lambasts Dahal
KIRAN PUN
KATHMANDU, April 23: Expressing dissent over Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal´s political document, Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya presented a separate document at the party central committee (CC) meeting on Friday, demanding preparations for an immediate revolt to capture state power and write a ´people´s constitution.´
“The chairman has deviated from the party´s revolutionary goals. If the party is to agree to a constitution without ensuring socio-political changes, why did we ask so many to sacrifice their lives,” a leader quoted Baidya as saying at the CC.
Baidya was of the opinion that the country already had the 1990 constitution and the sacrifice of so many people cannot be justified if the party is to accept the spirit of that constitution.
In tones of someone badly cheated, Baidya accused Dahal of “revisionism, eclecticism, reformism and dishonesty”, and said the chairman had betrayed the proletariat and deviated from the party´s goals.
Baidya, who leads the party´s hardline camp, is not for concluding the peace process and constitution drafting through compromises with other parties.
“We should not opt for an integration process that humiliates PLA personnel,” a leader quoted Baidya as saying.
The chairman has deviated from the party´s revolutionary goals. If the party is to agree on a constitution without ensuring socio-political changes, why did we ask so many to sacrifice their lives?
--Baidya The Maoist senior vice-chairman argued that the Maoist leadership doesn´t want to become mentally prepared to launch a revolt, though the objective situation is conducive for this.
“The reactionary parties are undergoing political crisis while the people are enraged by the government´s inability to solve the problems the country is facing. So the ground is becoming ready for revolt, but the party lacks preparations for that,” he said.
The Baidya faction has argued that the central committee cannot overturn a decision taken by the party plenum. The party CC held immediately after the Palungtar plenum last November endorsed the line of revolt.
"We would not accept an anti-people constitution and the silence of the grave. Otherwise we had better follow the line of Mohan Bikram Singh and Madan Bhandari,” said a leader close to Baidya.
Party hardliners say they would see how the chairman reacts to Baidya´s document and then chart out their strategy.
“The floor is now open. It is yet to be seen how the chairman embraces the message of the Paluntar plenum, and we´ll forge our strategy accordingly,” said Kul Prasad KC of the Baidya faction.
At the CC meeting, Dahal presented his political document proposing that the party defer the line of immediate revolt and focus on completion of peace and the constitution.
Acknowledging deepening differences among the leaders, Maoist Chairman Dahal said that the party can hold a general convention by next February to settle to all outstanding feuds.
General convention will be the right solution to fix ideology differences that has weakened the party and created several cracks, a leader quoted Dahal as saying.
The faction led by Dr Baburam Bhattarai has long been demanding a general convention, which is 20 years overdue. The party establishment has been postponing the general convention citing an unfavorable political situation.
Dahal swings back to peace, constitution
KATHMANDU, April 20: Ditching the official party line of revolt, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has swung back to the line of peace and constitution floated by Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai.
In his three-page political document presented at the party politburo meeting on Wednesday, Dahal emphasized the need to conclude the peace process and constitution-drafting to safeguard the political achievements made so far.
“There is a real risk of counter-revolution if we don´t put in best efforts to conclude the peace process and constitution drafting,” a politburo member quoted Dahal´s document. With constitution-drafting deadline just a month away, Dahal was hard-pressed to choose between peace and a revolt.
The Maoist chairman, who keeps on vacillating between the lines of Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and Bhattarai, put forward three ´compelling´ reasons for changing his ideological posture.
First, the objective reality for revolution has undergone massive changes since the Palungtar plenum held last November. Second, the ´counter-revolutionaries´ are raising their heads and hatching conspiracies. And third, the party has not done enough homework for a revolt.
The Maoist party had adopted the line of revolt through a majority vote at a central committee meeting held a few days after the Palungtar plenum.
“The chairman´s document has deviated from the line and spirit of the Palungtar plenum,” said leader Kul Prasad KC who is close to Baidya.
Earlier, breaking his ideological alliance with Bhattarai, the Maoist chairman had swerved to the hard-line camp when he fell out with Bhattarai after the infamous Khanna garment episode.
In the politburo meeting on Wednesday, Bhattarai threw weight behind Dahal´s proposal, while Baidya launched lacerating criticism against Dahal and accused him of ´deception´. What irritated Baidya all the more was Dahal´s statement that he never proposed changing the party´s line to revolt in a true sense.
“A serious ideological deviation has bedeviled the chairman. The journey of rightist deviation starts from this point. It is a grave betrayal against the proletariat and their dream of revolution,” a leader quoted Baidya as saying.
Baidya also accused Dahal of being a man without any ideological line. “Your claim that you have your own ideological posture between the extreme right and extreme left has been proven wrong. Now there are two lines only [his and Bhattarai´s],” a leader quoted Baidya who also argued that the politburo doesn´t have any right to change the party line adopted by the CC after the Palungtar plenum. The party has called a meeting of the CC for Friday to discuss the issue further.
What next
The Dahal and Bhattarai together command a comfortable majority in the CC and the new document is likely to be endorsed by a majority vote.
“Now it is Baidya´s turn to register a note of dissent,” said a leader close to Dahal.
The hard-line faction is not likely to accept the document easily, and Baidya is likely to present a separate political document in the CC.
“We will not remain as spectators if the document is passed through a majority vote as was the case while sidelining Bhattarai last time. We will demand a plenum,” said a leader close to Baidya.
But there is virtually no possibility of holding a plenum as the constitution-drafting deadline approaches. “The disputes would be over for now after Baidya registers a note of dissent,” said a leader close to Dahal.
Party hardliners say they never fully trusted Dahal, who has always been dillydallying to bring out programs for a revolt.
The party endorsed the line of revolt in the famous Kharipati meeting, but the party establishment never charted political programs to implement the line. “He is against launching a revolt. We did not fully believe that he would embrace revolt as official line of the party. And he showed his true colors today,” said a leader from Baidya faction, which believes that Dahal had joined hands with Baidya for the latter´s organizational strength.
2011-04-20
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