Struggle within the UCPN (M)

[Saorsa]

Bhattarai wants 'options' kept open

POST BAHADUR BASNET

KATHMANDU, June 17: Maoist Vice Chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai said on Wednesday that the party should be open about bringing forward another party leader as prime ministerial candidate if that will lead to the formation of a national consensus government.

Dr Bhattarai said this while commenting on the next strategic move of the Maoist party proposed by party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the ongoing Maoist politburo meeting.



“As the largest political party in parliament, the Maoists should lead the national consensus government. And for this, we should be ready to make a leader other than the party chairman prime minister if that will lead to consensus among the political parties,” a politburo member quoted Dr Bhattarai as saying at the meeting.

Bhattarai, however, argued that it is not he himself alone who can be the alternative option to Dahal as the party´s prime ministerial candidate. “Other leaders also can head a consensus government if the other political parties agree,” the politburo member quoted Bhattarai as saying. Bhattarai has made his comment at a time when the last meeting of party top officials have decided that Dahal alone can head the government if the party gets a chance to lead it.

The Bhattarai faction has stated that the top officials don´t have the right to take such a momentous decision, overriding a decision of the last central committee meeting, but the party establishment has counter-argued that they took the decision to defeat a conspiracy to split the party by looking for an alternative to the party chairman.

Dahal´s verbal political proposal is silent about another party leader becoming prime minister.

Bhattarai stated that the Maoist party alone should lead the next government to achieve the goal set under its current general line -- framing of a “progressive” constitution through the front of parliament, the street and the government while safeguarding the achievements realized so far.

According to sources, Dr Bhattarai argued that the Maoist party should set out its plan of action only after understanding the current international situation and the character of “imperialism and capitalism”.

Senior Vice Chairman Mohan Baidya criticized Dahal´s verbal proposal for its “vagueness and ambiguity”, though his own views were somewhat similar to Dahal´s.

“Chances of our party leading the national consensus government have ended after the ruling parties betrayed us by not implementing the three-point deal. So we should prepare for another struggle and train the party cadres accordingly,” a leader close to Baidya quoted him as saying.

Baidya, who leads the hard-line camp in the party, also criticized the trend of “double-talk” among party leaders. Besides, he also demanded that the party immediately settle the dispute over the party´s principal enemy. The hard-line camp wants the party to declare India the principal enemy, while the soft-line camp, led by Bhattarai, states that domestic feudalism backed by foreigners should be declared the principal enemy.

Leaders close to Dr Bhattarai have accused the party chairman of unnecessarily prolonging the politburo meeting.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=19964

[Uppercut]

Hmm it looks some are getting frustrated with Prachanda. If they do choose to elect new leadership, let's hope they choose someone that is aware of the responsibility of being considered a revolutionary leader.

At least it shows that the UCPN (M) is aware of their situation and aren't going to be slowed by unresponsiveness or revisionism. I'm not saying Prachanda is revisionist at this point, but it shows the class consciousness of the party as a whole.

[Saorsa]

I do not think Prachanda is a revisionist. I think Prachanda has consistently led forward a revolutionary party and a revolutionary movement towards the capture of state power and the radical transformation of society. He's done so in a creative, non-dogmatic way, and he hasn't been afraid to surprise his supporters around the world. This has led many to condemn him as a revisionist - I don't agree.

It's clear that the ruling class is trying to use this current dispute between Prachanda and Bhattarai to split the party. This was made abundantly clear when all the Madhesi parties (which are close to Indian expansionism) declared publicly that they wanted Bhattarai to be Prime Minister, not Prachanda. This imperialist plot should be opposed both in Nepal and by us overseas.

It's worrying that in light of this situation, Bhattarai is trying to press the issue. He could be playing right into the enemy's hands, and considering how he's sometimes accused of being an 'India man' in the party this isn't exactly helpful with clearing his name, in my opinion.

Prachanda and his supporters oppose anyone else (i.e. Bhattarai) being nominated as Prime Minister, and while Kiran hasn't spoken out directly in support of either Prachanda or Bhattarai it's being presumed that he and his supporters would vote against Bhattarai being proposed as PM.

In many ways the current obsession with the PM question is a distraction. What's really interesting is what wider decisions will be made in the politburo meeting now beginning, which is being predicted to last up to a week. The UCPN (M) will be deciding on the course of it's struggle over at the very least the coming months, and the decisions made in this meeting could be decisive.

[Saorsa]

Debate on Prachanda proposal continues
Last Updated : 2010-06-16 11:10 PM

Himalayan News Service
KATHMANDU: The politburo meeting of the main opposition, Unified CPN-Maoist, continued debates on the political report presented on Tuesday by party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” on the latest political developments and various alternatives to conclude the ongoing peace process.

Party spokesperson Dinanath Sharma told media persons that senior vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya, vice-chairman duo Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Narayankaji Shrestha, and general secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa aired views on the party chairman’s presentation on the political deadlock, peace process and reinvigoration of the party organisations.

A politburo member informed this daily that Dr Bhattarai, while airing his views, stressed the need to intensify pressure from the government, parliament and the street to take the peace process to a logical conclusion and adopt the new constitution within the extended term of the Constituent Assembly.

Baidhya is believed to have focused on both the fronts of parliament and the streets to expedite the peace process and adopt the constitution. He is learnt to have said that the ruling parties intended to derail the peace and constitution-drafting processes, though they had agreed to extend the CA’s term by one more year. He suggested going to the people to expose the ruling parties’ hidden intention, according to a politburo member.

Politburo members CP Gajurel and Post Bahadur Bogati also aired views on the chairman’s presentation. Party insiders said the 46-member politburo meet could stretch at least for a week. According to sources, party chairman Prachanda had apprised the politburo members it was not possible to form the national consensus government under the party’s leadership, given external factors and adamant stances of ruling Nepali Congress and CPN-UML. “The ruling parties will not let us lead a majority government, either,” a politburo member quoted Dahal.

He said the party would not let the Parliament function smoothly.

Prachanda is also learnt to have proposed conducting district and state councils’ conferences and central-level cadres’ meeting or a national level conference.

Chairman’s PLA integration proposal

KATHMANDU: At the meeting, Prachanda came up with alternatives for the integration of Maoist fighters living in the 28 UNMIN-monitored camps. According to sources, Prachanda proposed either (i) forming a separate force of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) after the number of combatants to be integrated into the national security wings is agreed upon (ii) creating a combined security wing bringing in equal number of personnel from the Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and PLA each or (iii) facilitating unitwise (bulk) entry of PLA in three security wings. The Comprehensive Peace Accord, however, says all aspiring Maoist fighters are required to meet “standard norms” of security wings for possible integration.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Debate+on+Prachanda++proposa l+continues+&NewsID=247139

[vyborg]

it seems to me that the opposition is a right wing one, fighting for a softer stance...but maybe I misunderstand the articles

[thälmann]

soon the party will see that theres no chance for new democratic development with those other partys in a kind of multi party system...and then they have to go back to peoples war.and again thousands of comrades have to die until they get to the point they were...

[chegitz guevara]

What I want to know is why Prachandra is insisting that he, alone, can be PM? It seems that there's too much focus on him, not enough on the Party. We all serve the movement, and the movement serves us all.