Speaking to reporters after the party´s central committee meeting where he lodged a strong protest against Dahal´s remark, Bhattarai said,"It is an attempt to assassinate my character." He added that he was saddened also because media gave importance to it. Bhattarai, however, didn´t specify who was involved in the character assassination bid.
But a Maoist leader and party central committee member close to Bhattarai said that Bhattarai´s remarks were "obviously directed against the chairman of the party." He also said that Dr Bhattarai strongly protested against Dahal´s remarks at the party central committee meeting. "It´s unfortunate that we have inherited the wrong international culture of communist parties where leaders resort to character assassination when there are ideological differences," the central committee member quoted Dr Bhattarai as saying.
According to the Maoist leader, Bhattarai also asked Dahal why he was feeling unnecessarily insecure with him when he always accepted him as his leader. "I have never claimed the party leadership and have always assisted you.Why are you dragging me into contest and controversy?" Bhattarai pointedly asked Dahal.
Bhattarai is also learnt to have demanded that if he was proposed by some Indian leaders as the next prime minister there were other Indian leaders who have said that Dahal should again lead the government. "Why don´t you tell that part as well to our party leaders and cadres? Why are you talking just about me?"
The central committee member claimed that it was only after Bhattarai´s protest that Dahal was compelled to tell the press conference that sometimes India also proposed that he lead the government. Addressing the press conference after the central committee meeting Dahal said, "They [Indians] sometimes propose me as the prime minister and sometimes they propose Bhattarai".
But he defended his statement, saying that he was just informing party cadres on Sunday about how foreigners were playing games in his party after he announced at the CC meeting in June that he would not head the next Maoist-led government.
Party decides Dahal to lead next govt
Meanwhile, Chairman Dahal himself proposed at today´s central committee meeting that he should be made the prime minister in the next government if the party got a chance to lead the government. "No one had the guts to speak against the chairman´s proposal so it was passed unopposed," said the central committee member.
"Our decision is that a Maoist-led government should be formed. And such a government should be led by me," Dahal told the press meet held at party headquarters at Paris Danda after wrapping up the Central Committee (CC) meeting on Tuesday.
The CC also unanimously passed Dahal´s paper, "A Critical Proposal on the Current Political Situation", in which the party chairman has set out the issue of "national independence" as the top agenda of the party. "The meeting passed the proposal unanimously after necessary amendment," said Dahal. Now the demand for "civilian supremacy" has fallen behind the issue of national independence.
The party, however, failed to identify the arch-enemy due to intra-party differences. "The main contradiction is internal. But we feel that external factors are mixed with it. So the party´s plenum to begin from Mid-February will identify the nature of the contradiction," said Dahal. During the meeting, some party members had argued that the party is having its main contradiction with India.
The Maoist party also made public its month-long protest program from Dec 25 to push its agenda including national independence. Top Maoist leaders will visit places across the country to participate in interaction programs and rallies. The party leaders will also visit places where India has "encroached" upon Nepali land and hold rallies there. As per the program, Dahal will visit Mahakali, Mohan Baidya will go to Pashupatinagar, Dr Baburam Bhattarai to Susta, Narayankaji Shrestha to Laxmanpur barrage and Ram Bahadur Thapa to Khurdlotan barrage.
On January 19, the party will demonstrate in front of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and at Singha Durbar to push its demand concerning national independence.
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