Rift deepens in Baidya-led alliance over ex-king

KIRAN PUN
Grouping may not continue if CPN-Maoist doesn´t stop viewing former king as nationalist force

KATHMANDU, Aug 1: As dispute has further deepened among member parties of the CPN-Maoist led 33-party alliance with regard to their way of viewing former king Gyanendra, the continuity of the inter-party grouping has come into question.

Leaders from various political parties have sharp differences over how to regard the former king and royalist groups. While CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya and some other key leaders said that their party may forge an alliance with the former king and other royalist groups when it comes to fighting for national interests, other parties have vehemently objected to the idea.
The parties other than CPN-Maoist have said that the former king and royalist forces can never be a nationalist force.

After the statement of Baidya and other key leaders concerning the former king, members of the alliance had publicly called for a clarification over the statement. Baidya had then issued a press statement.

Expressing disagreement with Baidya´s statement, members of the alliance issued a separate statement on Tuesday arguing that the former king and royalists had never been nationalists.
Reiterating their own stance over the issue of the former king, they raised questions over the alliance.

"It will be hard to continue with the alliance if the CPN-Maoist does not change its stance that the former king and royalist forces are nationalist," Mani Thapa, general secretary of the Revolutionary Communist party of Nepal, told Republica.
The CPN-Maoist has prioritized the issue of national integrity while the other members of the alliance are for first institutionalizing the republic.
"Baidya´s statement is not clear and has helped to increase suspicions," Matrika Yadav, chief of the CPN(Maoist), told Republica.

Thapa added that they issued separate statements to save their parties from being tagged royalist. He also said that the Baidya-led Maoists want the politics of power, entering into alliance with the former king.
Although the meeting of the alliance on Tuesday decided to keep the alliance intact for purposes of protesting against the state and the syndicate of four major parties, they are keeping to their differing views with regard to the former king.
"We concluded we would remain united in protest while keeping to our parties´ own ideologies," reads a statement issued by Dev Gurung, chief of the alliance taskforce, on Tuesday.

CPN-Maoist has been arguing that Nepal is in danger of Sikkimization and national sovereignty should be saved through a joining of hands with the former king.
from Republica