"It is true that I have taken initiatives for party unity, but it would be a great injustice to me if you even thought that I have pledged to them [Baidya faction leaders] about changing government leadership," a senior leader who was present at the meeting quoted Dahal as saying during the meeting.[break]
According to leaders, Dahal had also pledged to the leaders of the Bhattarai faction that the latter would not quit the line of peace and constitution.
"The chairman briefed the leaders about his agreement with them [the Baidya faction leaders], and assured that the party would take initiatives to form a national consensus government under the current prime minister," said party leader Ganga Shrestha, who is also the personal secretary of Prime Minister Bhattarai.
After they reached an agreement with Dahal to formulate a common political proposal in line with the spirit of the "revolutionary" line of the Palungtar plenum and withhold both Dahal´s and Baidya´s documents for now, Baidya faction leaders had told the media Monday on record that Dahal had agreed to change the government leadership.
During the meeting, Dahal had also explained the difficulties he faced to bring the Baidya faction to agreement.
"While one group of that [Baidya] faction wants to go its own way and split the party, there is another strong group which wants to settle things amicably. And the latter group made the reconciliation possible. They are no longer as obstinate as before," a participant quoted Dahal as saying.
During the meeting, the leaders had warned that that it would be a great mistake on his part to quit the line of peace and constitution and favor revolt.
While the leaders close to Bhattarai say there must have been some agreement between Dahal and Baidya about changing government leadership, which was Baidya´s one of the major demands for party unity, Baidya faction is more or less assured that changing the government leadership in the immediate future is almost impossible given the current dynamics inside and outside the party.
"The other political parties might be thinking that it is an opportune time to change the government as the Maoists are seeing intra-party crisis. Similarly, some leaders from our own party might be pushing for the change of government leadership. But it is not possible given the current political dynamics," said Ram Karki who is close to Bhattarai.
Bhattarai has tarnished party´s image: Gajurel
Meanwhile, Maoist Secretary CP Gajurel said Tuesday that his party decided to move ahead united to achieve the goals of the "people´s war".
"We found that it would be impossible to implement the agendas of the people´s war if we split. So we decided to keep party unity intact," he said. Gajurel, who is close to Baidya, stated that Chairman Dahal has agreed to review the four-point deal reached with the Madhesi parties for the formation of the current government, seven-point PLA integration deal and BIPPA signed with India.
The party secretary also argued that it there is no option for Bhattarai other than to step down. "The party´s image is being tarnished due to Bhattarai´s continued presence in the government," he said.
He also said that the central committee meeting slated for Wednesday would categorically bring out the details of the "ideological deviations" the party leadership has undergone till date and a roadmap to make corrections.
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