Baidya faction calls national gathering of 'People's Volunteers'

KIRAN PUN
KATHMANDU, April 24: The hardline faction of the Maoist party led by Senior Vice Chairman Mohan Baidya is organizing the first ever national gathering of the "People´s Volunteers" in Kathmandu on Tuesday in a bid to activate it and to chart out its future strategies. People´s Volunteers is a combative youth wing of the Maoist party headed by Netra Bikram Chand.

Leaders from the faction said the recently retired Maoist combatants as well as disqualified combatants would participate in the gathering to be held at an undisclosed venue in Kathmandu.

"The gathering is being organized to activate the People´s Volunteers´ Bureau (PVB) and form a youth´s organization that will have a youth each from all the districts," said party politburo member Hitman Shakya.
YCL leader Asal Khadka said around 250 PVB leaders, including district chiefs close to the Baidya faction were expected to attend the first ever national gathering. Even PVB leaders close to the party´s establishment faction had been invited but it was not clear if they would attend. "The gathering has been called to form a common organization of youths drawing members from YCL and other wings of the party," said Khadka.

Though it was formed year ago to launch "people´s revolt", the People´s Volunteer Bureau had remained inactive allegedly due to unwillingness of Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. It was even opposed by YCL leaders close to Dahal.

At the time of its inception, the PVB had a military structure, with six commands and the six departments, exactly what the party had during the insurgency .

Dahal had told a cadre training that the party would form a combative youth force under the PVB with over 500,000 members to complete the ´revolution´.