Nepal: Maoist revolutionaries (“Hardliners”) fire salvo at Dahal, PM Bhattarai

KAMAL DEV BHATTARAI, Kathmandu Post

KATHMANDU, DEC 28 –

The barb between the hardliners and the party establishment within the UCPN (Maoist) saw a new level of intensity on Wednesday as hardliners hurled personal broadside against party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, calling him a “comprador” and a “sell-out”. During the ongoing Central Committee (CC) meeting of the party on Wednesday, not even Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai was spared from personal attacks. According to some leaders, the attack was one of fiercest in the party’s internal deliberation since the party entered peaceful politics in 2006.

“Dahal and PM Bhattarai are working under the guidance of expansionist and imperialistic forces, the signing of BIPPA is a classic example of it,” said Ram Bahadur Thapa, party general secretary and leader of the hard-line camp, in the meeting. He also accused Dahal of compromising with other parties on the core issues of constitution drafting in the dispute resolution subcommittee formed under the Constitutional Committee.

The group of four in the hard-line camp—Thapa, CP Gajurel, Dev Gurung and Netra Bikram Chand ‘Biplav’—used words such as “comprador”, “rightist”, “reformist”, “individualistic” and “feudal” to describe Dahal and Bhattarai during the deliberation. The leaders threatened to split the party, arguing that there was no point in staying together if the party leadership didn’t change itself. They said ideology and people were more worthy for them than the party. Continue reading