The United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) may no longer remain united say two of the top party leaders. UCPN-M senior vice chairman Mohan Baidya and Secretary CP Gajurel have revealed that the hardliner faction may finally split away after a national meeting on June 15.
Senior Vice Chairman Baidya said that the present leadership has failed to live upto the aspirations of the people and a new radical force is essential to institutionalize the achievements made by the ‘people’s war’ and the subsequent Madhesi and janajati movements. He made these comments at a television program in a one of the news channels.
Speaking at a program organized by Revolutionary Journalists Association in Biratnagar, another senior leader Gajurel said, “We have called for a national level meeting on June 15 during which we may declare the new party .” However, mincing his words about the split, Gajurel said that they were trying to unite the revolutionary Maoists and warned the party establishment not to disrupt the meeting.
Both Baidya and Gajurel rubbished the charge that the hardline faction was calling for a revolt and made it clear that they have no intention of either taking up arms or entering the jungle. “We will not go for a revolt, instead we will work for peace and constitution,” Baidya said.
Charging his party Chairman and another Vice Chairman for the failure to declare constitution, Gajurel demanded that the current government should resign. He also rejected the possibility of resurrecting CA or holding of elections under the present government and said Bhattarai’s resignation was pre-condition to any solution. The hardline faction has been threatening a split ever since Dahal agreed to integrate Maoist combatants in the Nepal Army, insisting that the party should not surrender PLA before the constitution is drafted.
However, the establishment faction led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai have said that the party will become more united in future instead of splitting. There is a clear rift among the two factions of the Maoists but given the uncertain posturing in the past, it is still too early to say if the party will indeed split.