Baidya turns down Dahal's talks offer

KIRAN PUN
KATHMANDU, June 11: UCPN (Maoist) Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya has refused meet Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, arguing there was no point in holding further talks with the party supremo.

Baidya had refused Dahal´s phone request for a meeting on Friday saying he would not sit for talks unless Dahal commits to meet three preconditions. Baidya also said past meeting between the two had not yielded any results.

"We are ready for discussion. But since the chairman has already lost all his credibility, there is no need to hold further discussion. Dahal and his faction has been sowing the seeds of division while talking about party unity," Baidya told Republica over phone.
Baidya said his first condition was that Dahal needed to correct his past mistakes through ´self-criticism´. In Communist parties, self-criticism is not considered a normal move and is seen as a disciplinary action.

Baidya faction has termed Dahal´s move to deploy the Nepal Army in the PLA cantonments as ´surrender´. Likewise, Baidya faction has also expressed strong reservation over the BIPPA agreement reached with India, terming it as ´anti-national´ move.

Similarly, Baidya has demanded Dahal to abandon the line of parliamentary system and revisionism and also accept the line of new ´democratic revolution´ as another precondition to hold further discussion.

Baidya faction concluded that party´s line on peace and constitution has failed. They expressed serious reservation over the handover of the PLA to the Nepal Army without integration and dissolution of the Constituent Assembly without promulgating a new statute.

Baidya said Dahal had lost all his credibility as he never implemented the things he promised to do. “So, another condition is that Dahal needs to convince us by implementing the party line of revolution,” he said.

Baidya maintained that party unity is possible on the bases of party´s ideology and party line. “We do not want to be cheated yet again. We will take bold decision from the national conclaves scheduled for June 15," said Baidya.

Baidya faction has been demanding Dahal´s resign saying that party´s line on peace and constitution has already failed. The faction maintains that Dahal has no moral ground to stay in the post after his official line failed to bring results.

Upon hearing the preconditions Dahal had proposed to call a separate meeting of their respective faction, Baidya said. "Chairman said that he would discuss with his comrades and also urged us to discuss it in our side. But I told him that they can hold meeting. We are already clear on the conditions."