If this demand had come from junior party cadres, it wouldn´t have mattered much but it has come from members of the standing committee and was formally raised at that highest body of the party. We are afraid that Dahal and his close aides are losing a sense of direction and a sense of the enormity of the challenges facing their party and the country. Action against Bhattarai should be the last thing on the party´s agenda when it faces colossal challenges, including the challenge to keep the party united.
This whole episode sends out an ominous message: "Maoist Headquarters" doesn´t believe in the right to expression; doesn´t allow intra-party democracy; and doesn´t tolerate dissenting views. As far as we know, Bhattarai hasn´t made any petty comment against the party leadership in public; instead, he is raising fundamental questions about the political direction that his party is taking.
Bhattarai wants peace and constitution to be the party´s main agenda and not the revolt that party hardliners are pressing for. When he has such fundamental differences with the party leadership -- something that does not just concern the party, it is his duty to inform the public about it. In an open society, people have the right to know the opinion of their leaders on issues that matter to them so that they can make informed choices about leaders and political parties. In trying to trample on such a basic right, Dahal & Co. are standing against the basics of a democratic society.
Dahal actually seems to be in a hurry to sideline Bhattarai, in whom he sees a potential rival. He has long tried to tarnish Bhattarai’s blossoming image as an honest and competent politician, and has been doing his best to cut him down to size. The Khanna garment episode, where Dahal alleged that India was trying to project Bhattarai as the next prime minister, was a deliberate attempt to belittle him in the eyes of Maoist cadres and the wider public. In hindsight, that attempt seems to have boomeranged. Bhattarai has stiffened his spine since then and is working hard to be his own captain; he has expanded his support-base within the party.
So the stick that Dahal is now wielding seems to be just nervous reaction on his part. Before he decides to take any action against Bhattarai, here is our suggestion: Mr Chairman, just think how your party would appear in the public eye without Dr Bhattarai?
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