Dahal too met Saran separately

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Aug 9: Maoist leaders close to Dr Baburam Bhattarai have accused the party establishment of slandering Dr Bhattarai for the latter´s separate meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh´s special envoy Shyam Saran at Dwarika´s Village Hotel in Kathmandu last Thursday.

They said Bhattarai met Saran after party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal requested him to do so and Dahal too met Saran separately at the Indian embassy Friday.

"It is yet another attempt to tarnish the image of Bhattarai as pro-Indian," said Maoist politburo member Devendra Poudel.

The leaders were responding to the statements by Maoist leader Barsha Man Pun who, in an interview with BBC Nepali Service on Saturday, had stated that the party would "seek clarification from Bhattarai over the meeting at a time when he is being seen as a pro-Indian leader inside and outside the party".

"Pun, however, did not say anything about the meeting between the chairman and Saran during the BBC interview. He is just being too loyal to Dahal," said another leader.

According to the leaders, Dahal had asked Bhattarai to hold separate meeting with Saran to remove the existing mistrust between the Maoist party and India, saying he would also meet the envoy the next day.