Maoist General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa, a key leader from the party´s radical faction, issued the directive during a closed-door session held at Nayabazaar, Kathmandu, to train cadres from the faction. [break]
"We may have to jump into action around May 28 [the constitution drafting deadline]. The immediate circumstances will dictate whether such an insurrection will be armed or unarmed," a participant quoted Thapa as telling the cadres.
Members of the Maoist Newa State Committee and District Committee had participated in the program.
"We had the NC and UML as our enemies when we began the war in 1996. Now another UML [party establishment] has been born. And we have enough strength to fight it," another participant quoted Thapa, who switched over to the hardline faction a few months ago, as saying.
According to party leaders, the Maoist general secretary stated that he was well aware of the "political tricks" being played by Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal and that his faction would not reconcile with Dahal without the party first coming onto the revolutionary track. "Otherwise they will go their own way and we ours," a member quoted Thapa as saying.
Thapa had pointed out the need to formally part ways with the party establishment if the latter slid further into revisionism.
Similarly, Netra Bikram Chand, another hardliner, argued that the only way to keep the party unity intact was through the method of unity-struggle-transformation. "Party unity cannot be achieved simply through negotiations or mediation," a participant quoted Thapa as saying further.
He said the entire party should share the same programs and the same political ideology if there is to be political unity. "I advise them [party establishment] to implement the decisions of the previous central committee (CC) meeting and hold another CC meeting to formulate a common political program and arrive at the same opinions, if party unity is to be achieved," a cadre quoted Chand as telling the cadres.
He had accused Dahal of violating the party statute by terming his faction´s meeting as a CC meeting.
He also told the cadres that the door for dialogue with the party establishment was still open.
Party leaders CP Gajurel and Dev Gurung were also present on the occasion.
The hardline faction led by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya has decided to mobilize groups of 200 senior cadres in each of the 240 electoral constituencies of the country.
Similarly, as per the decision, the cadres will launch an exposure campaign against the corrupt, smugglers and goons across the country.
The faction has decided to launch a campaign for the type of constitution it wants and collect signatures to that end.
Meanwhile, the CC meeting called by the party establishment has been postponed in a "bid to accommodate the Baidya faction". Leaders from the party establishment said they are holding talks with Baidya and Thapa to persuade them to participate in the CC meeting, which the latter have threatened to boycott unless Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai steps down and Dahal agrees to work out a program of mass mobilization for a "pro-people" constitution.
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