Dahal charges deputies with graft

PALUNGTAR: On the third day of the sixth extended meeting of the Unified CPN-Maoist that began here on Sunday, Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal accused both the vice-chairmen of financial irregularities.

“I have received reports that Dr Baburam Bhattarai had spent lots of money in Tarai region to woo party cadres towards his line,” a participant quoted Dahal as saying. He also accused Dr Bhattarai of hob-nobbing with several industrialists when he was finance minister. He even accused another vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya of accruing financial gains from his links to several influential people. He claimed that none of the two leaders ever reported the financial gains to the party.

On Baidhya’s threat to stage a revolt against the party if it tilted towards rightist revisionism, Dahal wondered who he was threatening. He expressed unhappiness over such comments from Baidhya. Baidhya had announced yesterday that he, along with other revolutionaries in the party, would abandon the party if it decided to toe the rightist line and adopt parliamentary system.

On Dr Bhattarai’s query why action was taken against him during Chunbang plenum, Dahal claimed Dr Bhattarai was punished not for presenting differing views but for not maintaining secrecy. During the deliberations that stretched beyond two hours, Dahal said there was no alternative to the party’s transformation, unity and revolution.

Dinanath Sharma, spokesperson for the party, said during his address Dahal accepted the party had shortcomings and stressed the need to transform it. He added that all the leaders should be held responsible, and not just him.

Dahal said the party should use democratic methods to resolve differences. Sharma quoted Dahal as saying there was a need to groom his successor. He added that intra-party wranglings could be managed easily if the youth leaders were taken into confidence during the planning stage.

Talking about the youth leaders, including Netra Bikram Chand, who has been toeing Baidhya’s line, Dahal said he had committed a mistake by not taking along the youth leaders in the government and other parliamentary processes.

Vice-chairman of Unified CPN-Maoist Mohan Baidhya said he was not hopeful that chairman Dahal would incorporate his political line and implement it. “I have not seen any indication that Dahal would implement his political line.”

Another vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai claimed that Chairman Dahal could not clarify what he wanted to say. “He contradicts himself," Dr Bhattarai claimed.

He added that Dahal didn’t address all the queries put to him by the leaders and cadres. “Dahal must have come up with solutions after objectively analyzing the issues raised by the leaders,” he argued.

He claimed that the plenum would pass his political line.

“If anyone tries to plot against the peace and constitution they would be swept away by the people’s revolution,” he added.

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