“The chairman today presented the document with some revisions, prepared after mixing his views with those of the senior vice-chairman, with some revisions,” said Maoist Spokesperson Dinanath Sharma after the CC on Monday.[break]
Leaders close to Bhattarai said that in the new document Dahal has toned down his line of “people´s revolt” for capturing the state, and stressed peace and constitution.
“He has stated that the party should fight for peace and constitution till the end, something which Bhattarai had been stressing,” said one leader close to Bhattarai.
However, leaders close to Baidya maintained that the spirit of the document is the same as the one that floats “people´s revolt” to realize the goals of revolution and identifies “the fusion of Indian expansionism and domestic reactionaries” as the principal enemy.
Party leaders said Dahal in his document telescoped his assessment of the party line taken since the Chunwang meeting, in an apparent bid to woo Baidya. Earlier, Dahal had argued that his party had attained remarkable success after adopting the Chunwang line. The assessment of the party line has now been left to the party general convention.
Dispute halts work division
Chairman Dahal, however, did not make any proposal on the reshuffling of party responsibilities. The party still struggles to effect divisions of work among the leaders, due to sharp intra-party factionalism. Both rival factions -- led by Baidya and Dahal -- have claimed a lion´s share of key party positions, which have been occupied by Dahal´s group.
“Instead, we sought suggestions from the CC members on the issue. He sought their opinion whether the party should expand the existing CC or downsize it and whether the party should add new members in the politburo.”
According to sources, Dahal is planning to appoint Kul Prasad KC as a new deputy commander of the Maoist People´s Liberation Army (PLA). Similarly, he plans to appoint Netra Bikram Chand as YCL in-charge, the position being held by KC. Sources said Chand will also take charge of the campaign for “political publicity, cooperation and public service” at grassroot level. The party had launched this type of campaign during the insurgency also, taking action against local “goons and feudal lords”
Similarly, the chairman is likely to propose Bhattarai to head the struggle front for peace and constitution. But leaders close to Bhattarai said Bhattarai already heads such a front, and it is nothing new.
“In a communist party whoever heads the political front heads the government. So it doesn´t make any sense if he is not made parliamentary party leader,” said a senior leader close to Bhattarai. Dahal heads the front, the party and the army -- the three organs of the Maoist movement -- and his aides have so far occupied the key positions.
Leaders close to Dahal said the names would be formally proposed at the politburo after taking suggestions from CC members.
Leaders close to Bhattarai have stated that Dahal is not in a reconciliatory mood to share key posts with them. “He has not yet consulted us about the sharing of party responsibilities, which means he is not for reconciliation,” said a leader close to Bhattarai. “We will vociferously oppose his proposal,” said the leader.
Dahal wants self-criticism for speaking to media
During the meeting, Dahal proposed self-criticism from senior leaders including Bhattarai for speaking to media about internal party matters.
He has accused five leaders including Bhattarai, Haribol Gajurel, Agni Sapkota, Ram Karki and Devendra Paudel of talking about party policy in the media.
While Karki and Poudel are righthand men to Bhattarai, Gajurel and Sapkota are close to Dahal.
“The chairman stated that they should accept their mistakes and publicly engage in self-criticism,” a CC member said.
Dahal has also proposed a five-point procedure to manage intra-party strategic and ideological disputes, while allowing the Bhattarai faction to hold debates about party political line.
“Now Bhattarai´s dissent can be taken to lower level committees for discussion. But he should not state what is right and what is wrong,” said the leader, adding that Bhattarai can write about his views in the party´s official publication, Bichar Dhara. Party leaders and cadres can discuss intra-party disputes in their respective committees.
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