Talk of new Maoist team in govt

TIKA R PRADHAN

KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist brass is mulling over replacing its team in the government with a new one.

At a meeting held today, the party office-bearers formed a five-member taskforce to set the criteria for the selection of ministerial candidates from the party. The body comprises standing committee members Dev Prasad Gurung, Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Lilamani Pokhrel and Barshaman Pun ‘Ananta’.

For the replacement of the Maoist team in the government, the party’s central committee (CC) will have to endorse the taskforce-given names.

Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said the CC meet scheduled for Sunday will take a decision on division of responsibility and the tactical line of the party.

At today’s meet, party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal read out his document to be presented at Sunday’s CC meeting.

In his paper, Dahal said PLA should get to lead the directorate to be formed under the Nepali Army. He said the fighters should be regrouped in line with the five-point pact reached among the three major parties. “Dahal has outlined the party’s bottomline on peace and statute,” said Janardan Sharma, a politburo member.

Meanwhile, a politburo member close to Vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya claimed supporters have distanced themselves from Vice-chairman Shrestha and come close to Dahal after Shrestha shifted allegiance to the alliance of Vice-chairmen Baidhya and Dr Baburam Bhattarai.

According to him, a team under party leader Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, which has around two dozen CC members, has moved into the Dahal coterie. “Vice-chairman Shrestha has only Anjana Bishankhe with him.” Leaders claimed Dahal has agreed to replace Vice-chairman Shrestha with Bhattarai as the deputy leader of the parliamentary party and send Shrestha to the government to lead the party’s team. Sources close to Dahal said the latter will quit as the party’s Parliamentary Party (PP) leader if he finds himself in a minority both at the PP and the CC. “He may also resign as the party chief if senior leaders continue to nag him,” the politburo member said.

(Published in The Himalayan Times on July 17, 2011)