Baidya faction holds Dahal, PM responsible for CA dissolution

KIRAN PUN KATHMANDU, June 15: At a time when UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai have blamed the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly (CA), the dissident Maoist faction led by the party´s Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya has held the party leadership chiefly responsible for CA dissolution. The Baidya faction accused Dahal, who headed the dispute resolution subcommittee, of revoking the decisions made in the CA thematic committees instead of taking initiatives to frame a “pro-people” constitution. "The subcommittee didn´t take any initiative to activate the House as per the CA regulations. The leaders of the subcommittee stalled all procedures, left the rest of the CA members without any role and eventually brought about CA dissolution," said a two-page letter submitted by Baidya and General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa on behalf of the dissident faction to Chairman Dahal. Underlining the mistakes committed by the party leadership on various issues including constitution writing, integration of former Maoist combatants, foreign affairs-related issues and implementation of the party´s official past decisions, the Baidya faction said the party leadership must undergo self-criticism for their frequent mistakes and make a commitment in writing not to repeat them in future. "Otherwise, the national conclave of the party members scheduled for Saturday will take place as planned," stated the letter. The dissident faction also described Dahal´s seven-point proposal as yet another ploy to deceive and betray the dissident faction and the party rank and file. The dissident faction has also fiercely criticized the four-point deal signed between the UCPN (Maoist) and the United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF) just ahead of electing Baburam Bhattarai for the post of prime minister. Stating that the party had been protesting the "unequal treaties and agreements" signed with India such as the 1950 treaty, Mahakali treaty, among others, the dissident faction said the establishment faction betrayed them by signing other "anti-national and anti-people agreements" with India. "While our party has been fighting against the unequal treaties and agreements, the government led by our own party has signed BIPPA, an understanding on water resources and other anti-national and anti-people agreements with the Indian government," stated the letter. "Such agreements are against the party policy." The letter also clearly mentioned that the Baidya faction cannot be held responsible for such mistakes as they were not involved in any party decisions for some months. They also criticized the Bhattarai-led government´s bulldozing of squatters´ settlements on the bank of Bagmati River in Kathmandu. The dissident group has accused the Dahal faction of trying to trap the party into a parliamentary and revisionist quagmire against the party´s official policy to establish new democratic republic and fight imperialists and expansionists. They said the party´s unity can be kept intact only if the Dahal faction commits to abide by the party´s official line. Similarly, the Baidya faction has said the central committee meeting six months ago had unanimously decided to dissolve the Bhattarai-government and to form a unity government. "But six months on, the establishment faction intends to give continuity to the same government," it said. "Moreover, the legislature parliament has been sacrificed [dissolved] just for the sake of giving continuity to the present government." Baidya´s seeking excuse to split party: Dahal faction Leaders from the Dahal faction have claimed that the Baidya faction´s refusal to accept the party chairman´s seven-point proposal proves that the dissident leaders are for splitting the party instead of seeking a solution. "They [Baidya faction] have already formed their own parallel committees across the country. They are fully prepared to split the party and are just seeking an excuse for that," said party´s politburo member Agni Sapkota, who is close to Dahal. "The six-point response by the Baidya faction is just a formality." According to him, leaders from the Baidya faction sent the proposal only to show the party cadres that they are in favor of party unity and that they are not for splitting the party despite differences with the party leadership. Politburo member Haribol Gajurel claimed that Dahal did not make any mistake. He argued that the Baidya faction should undergo self-criticism instead because their allegations against the chairman have been proven wrong. "How can the chairman be blamed for the failure to draft the new constitution? Even the international community has praised the chairman for taking the peace process and constitution drafting this far. It is the Baidya faction that has failed. So, they should undergo self-criticism," Gajurel told Republca.