Baidya faction astray

Maoist Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and his faction’s objection to and condemnation of the handover of the keys of the arms containers to the Special Committee have revived doubts about the future of the peace process. Not only did Vice-chairman Baidya issue a public statement deploring the handover of the keys but his supporters also descended onto the streets on Friday, blocking traffic for an hour during office rush-hour to try and drive their point home. The coordinated blocking of traffic movement across the country and issuance of statements against the keys handover by cadres close to the Baidya faction in several districts not only speak volumes about differences and bitterness within the Maoist party but also indicate the severity of the problems and the resistance that the peace process is likely to face from within the Maoist party. If the Baidya faction is intent on kicking up a storm over the handover of the keys, a move which does not have more than a symbolic value after all, one can guess what it will do when and if the party makes real concessions in the peace process.



The Baidya group’s argument that the handover decision was taken without proper discussion in the party doesn’t hold water. The party Standing Committee had endorsed and made public its five-point peace process proposal on August 25, just three days before the prime minister’s election date. A press conference was organized to make the proposal public and present on the dais along with other leaders was Maoist Vice-chairman Baidya. Furthermore, Clause 1(G) of the proposal clearly says that the party will take concrete steps, should it get to lead the government, to hand over arms and armies to the Special Committee. The Baidya faction has, however, argued that the keys handover issue was discussed but never agreed upon and it was therefore not included in the proposal. But a question arises: What else would constitute a concrete step to hand over arms and armies to the Special Committee? The Baidya faction has not come up with a satisfactory answer.



Irrespective of whatever was or was not agreed in the Maoist party, the imperative of the situation dictates that the peace process should move forward irrevocably to institutionalize the gains of Janaandolan II and end the current transition. The Maoists may come up with numerous explanations and clarifications as to why the peace process could not be completed in the last four years, though they had agreed to wrap it up within six months of their first leading the government in 2009. But the public knows one thing for sure: The Maoists should take a disproportionate share of the blame for the stalemate. And now that the Maoists have once again gotten a chance to lead the government, the people will not accept any more excuses from them. As the Maoist bark sails into the sea of peace, its leadership might actually have to be ready to toss a few of its members overboard to take the voyage to its logical conclusion. That won’t be a bad idea for the party, or for the country.

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