Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the top three leaders who lead three different ideological currents within the party, sat next to each other on the dais at the function in Bhalohiya, organized in the memory of "martyr" Rit Bahadur Khadka killed by security forces nine years ago.[break]
Dahal said he would move ahead settling the intra-party disputes as the deadline for peace process and constitution drafting comes closer by the day. "It doesn´t do any good to the country and the people if the party splits. I will do my best to keep the party unity intact," he said. Stating that the people are worried about the completion of the peace process and constitution drafting, Dahal said his party would put in best efforts to formulate a constitution that would honor the popular aspirations.
Baidya, who leads the hard-line camp within his party, argued that the party would not deviate from the revolutionary path. He said ideological debates are natural within a vibrant communist party, but ruled out the possibility of splits in the party. He also pledged that the party would not forsake the popular aspirations as revolution was the basis for the formation of Maoist party.
According to him, there have been a number of revolutions and agreements in the country´s checkered history and pointed out the need for debates on each of them.
In his brief speech, Bhattarai, too, pledged that he would not split the party. "There are those who construe our ideological disputes as factionalism and dream that the party would split. But we would not let that happen," he said.
In the program, the kin of those killed during the insurgency asked the party leaders not to deviate from the ideals of revolution.
Though the top leaders reiterated that they would move ahead united, the local leaders from the Baidya camp refrained from taking seats on the dais, accusing the program organizers of humiliating the seniority of leaders while calling them to the dais.
They said they could not boycott the program as it was organized in memory of a "martyr". The chief of Maoist Bhojpura state committee Bhim Prasad Gautum, who is close to Bhattarai, also quit the dais saying that the local party leaders were humiliated.
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