Chairman Khanal expressed such views in his political document at the party´s ongoing politburo meeting. During the meeting on Tuesday, UML secretary Shankar Pokharel, who is also the Minister for Information and Communications, argued that there is no immediate possibility of a working alliance with the Maoists, and instead pointed out the need for an ideological struggle against the Maoist party.
"The Maoist deviations can be transformed only when the UML launches an ideological struggle against the Maoist party," a politburo member quoted Pokharel as saying during the meeting. "A working alliance with the Maoists will be possible only when they could be transformed. It is not possible now," Pokharel argued. Pokharel also argued that the Maoist party has been isolated due to its own choice. "They quit a Maoist-led government on their own," said Pokharel, demanding that Khanal correct his political paper that states that the Maoist party is being isolated by others.
Also speaking at the meeting, politburo member Rabindra Shrestha ruled out the possibility that the Maoists would return to war. According to Shrestha, the Maoists are having problems within the party and have been launching their struggle for publicity only. "They always keep changing their strategies. They may soon come to consensus," a Standing committee member quoted Shrestha, who is also the Minister for General Administration, as saying. Both Shrestha and Pokharel argued that the government is waiting for the Maoists to come to consensus.
Pokharel had argued that the internal dispute in the party was due mainly to the failure of the party to implement the democratization process agreed upon in the last general convention. "The general convention endorsed a proposal for democratization of the party, but there are attempts to move ahead with the old centralized mentality," he said, requesting the party establishment to run the party through democratic exercises. Another party secretary Yubraj Gyawali criticized the faction led by party leader K P Sharma Oli saying the tendency to underestimate the leadership, forming parallel committees, promoting anarchy and factionalism has gone up in the recent days. He also supported the political document of the party chairman.
Party vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam, however, argued that his dissenting opinion was correct. He argued that the registered a different opinion in the meeting to wage an ideological struggle against the party´s current leaning toward the right. He also argued that his decision to differ with the party´s decision on the controversy surrounding former army chief Rookmangud Katwal was correct. He said his was the correct decision. Gautam is of the view that the president´s move to reinstate the army chief was unconstitutional and that the "rightist coalition" is pushing the country toward civil war.
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