The signature campaign will continue till May 23--- four days before the expiry of term of the Constituent Assembly (CA). The faction has announced it is to submit all the signatures collected to Chairman of the Constituent Assembly Subas Nembang.[break]
In Kathmandu, Maoist Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya led the campaign at New Baneshwor, Ram Bahadur Thapa at Chabahil and Dev Gurung at Mangalbazar, Patan. Likewise, Pampha Bhusal and Hit Man Shakya led the campaign at Lagankhel and Kirtipur respectively.
The faction says it has mobilized some 200 party cadres in each of the 240 constituencies to collect the signatures and carry out other programs of struggle.
Meanwhile, the Baidya faction has started forming parallel committees from district to area level in an apparent bid to intensity its protests against the government.
According to a report from Janakpur, the faction has publicized the names of the faction´s district in-charges and secretaries in various Tarai districts including Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Siraha and Saptari.
Secretary of the newly-formed Mithila State Committee Roshan Janakpuri announced the formation of a parallel committee amidst a press conference organized at the office of the Maoist-affiliated Nepal Teachers Organization, Dhanusha Working Committee, on Monday.
Earlier, a Mithila and Bhojpura Secretariat Committee-level meeting held at Nawalpur of Sarlhai district had announced the formation of a parallel committee of the faction in the district.
Meanwhile, Maoist politburo member and Madhes bureau in-charge of the Maoist establishment faction Giriraj Mani Pokharel has claimed that the formation of the parallel committees would mean pushing the party to the verge of a split. He alleged that the Baidya faction´s move was weakening the internal unity of the Maoist party in contravention of official party policy.
Pokharel said that the party, through its recent central committee meeting, adopted a transitional policy that allows party cadres to present different views, criticize each other and exercise the right to protest.
“The formation of a struggle committee under CP Gajurel and parallel committees in various districts is the beginning of the formal split of the party,” he argued.
Maoist area secretaries not to cooperate with either faction
DANG: Expressing serious dissatisfaction over the growing rift within the party, 20 various area secretaries of the UCPN (Maoist) in Dang district have announced they will not cooperate with either faction.
The secretaries have announced not to participate in the campaign organized separately by the establishment and Baidya factions of the party until the party comes up with an integrated campaign. They have also urged village level cadres not to participate in any faction.
“The party has already reached the verge of a split. We are not in favor of splitting the party,” said Area Number 1 Secretary Yam Narayan Pokharel ´Bishwas´. “Therefore, we won´t participate in any program that is carried out in the name of a certain faction.”
The decision comes in the wake of the Baidya faction launching a signature campaign Monday for a ´pro-people´ constitution. The establishment faction of the party has also announced that it is to go to villages across the country with the agenda of peace and new constitution.
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