Kathmandu: Serious differences have cropped
up in Nepal`s ruling Maoists with a senior leader Mohan Vaidya
giving an ultimatum to part ways with strongman Prachanda and
threatening to return to the jungle to start another "people`s
revolution".
The differences in the party have surfaced over the issue
of Maoist tieing with Madhesi parties to prop up the new
coalition government in the country.
Prachanda had sought clarification from Vaidya yesterday
after the latter organised a separate gathering of his
followers in the capital on Wednesday.
Vaidya is learnt to have told Prachanda that they
were not holding separate meeting, but organising interactive
training programme for the party cadres.
During his meeting with Prachanda, Vaidya had warned
saying "our ultimate destination is peoples revolution and if
the establishment does not agree with the idea, we are ready
to go for that alone," the Annapurna Post reported, quoting
senior Maoist leader close to Prachanda, Posta Bahadur Bogati.
Party secretary C P Gajurel, who is close to Vaidya said
that the four point agreement reached between the UCPN-Maoist
and the Joint Democratic Madhesi Alliance was against the
national interest.
"The four point agreement gives a blow to the sentiment
of nationalism and national independence," he said.
The Vaidya faction has opposed the handing over of keys
of the arms container to the all-party Special Committee by
the party establishment and the signing of the four point deal
with the Madhesi Front, a grouping of five Madhesi parties.
The infighting in the party adds new dimension to the
crisis faced by the Himalayan nation, already grappling to
meet the deadline to draft a new constitution for the country
and the problems of disarmed cadres of the party.
The four point agreement includes among other things
recruiting at least 10,000 Madhesi people in Nepal Army with
the creation of a separate Madhesi unit, concluding the peace
process within 45 days of formation of the government and
providing autonomy to Madhesi region with more rights and
representation.
The Vaidya faction has also not joined the Baburam
Bhattarai led coalition government to show their disagreement
to the working style of the party establishment.
He, however, ruled out the possibility of splitting
the largest party in the Constituent Assembly.
"We won`t allow the party to be divided," he said.
The matter will be resolved during the central
committee meeting of the party scheduled to be held towards
September end, he said.
PTI
