He said taking up arms once again to force the Maoist agenda would only invite foreign intervention in Nepal and that would make this country another Afghanistan. "We are very aware of regional geopolitics and we will not let Nepal take the Afghan road," he said.
- Revolt is not our agenda for now
- If we take up arms again Nepal will become Afghanistan
- Keeping Nepali Congress out of government after the election was a major mistake
- India should be guided by enlightened interest so that we don´t go to war
- We may unilaterally announce concessions
Talking to a group of editors from major media houses this afternoon, Dr Bhattarai said, "Let me tell you that there may be confusion about our intentions and we also may not have been able to clarify our positions in the past but our roadmap is to write the constitution from within the CA."
He said the confusion among the public about his party´s intentions has arisen due to conflicting views within the Maoist party and also because of the "dogmatic understanding of Marxism and revolution" among senior party leaders.
He said the party will "very soon" make its position clear on the issue and may also announce "unilateral steps" to end the current deadlock if they fail to strike a deal with other parties. "But we hope that all the parties will reach an agreement and we don´t have to move unilaterally." He, however, refused to divulge what that unilateral move would be and when will it come.
He was of the view that writing the constitution on time will need cooperation of all the parties and "that´s why we have been emphasizing the need to form a national government, and as a major party in the constituent assembly we have a legitimate claim to lead such a government." But he was also of the view that the issue of "civilian supremacy" will have to be addressed somehow for the formation of a national government. He hinted that the Maoists would be more flexible in finding a way out over this issue.
He said he was aware of the pressing deadline for writing the constitution but argued that if there was an agreement among the parties they could amend the constitution to give the CA another six months or a year for the task.
Leaving NC out of government was a mistake
Dr Bhattarai said his party has realized that leaving the Nepali Congress, the second largest party in the constituent assembly, out of the government after the CA election was the major mistake. "The political misunderstanding created after that has eventually led us to this mess."
India must be guided by enlightened self-interest
Dr Bhattarai expressed hope that India would eventually be guided by enlightened self-interest which is that Nepal´s Maoists don´t go to war. "With the Indian Maoists already fighting a war I don´t think India wants to open up another front in Nepal." Asked when his party chairman, Puspha Kamal Dahal, was visiting India, he said the date hasn´t been fixed yet.
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