The government has not taken a full shape as yet. Not all the factions in your party have joined the government. When do you think will the government take a full shape?
We told the last Standing Committee meeting that we would join the government only after holding a Central Committee meeting. The CC meeting scheduled for Sept 19 has been deferred. We will decide whether or not to join the government only after the CC meeting is held.
The meeting was supposed to take some important decisions, including the handover of the keys of the weapons containers to the Special Committee. How far was it justifiable to defer the CC meeting?
Some disputes and debates have surfaced over issues including the keys handover. So there is no point in joining the government without settling these disputes first. While talking about the peace process, there are two issues that need attention. First, the disputed issues should be resolved. Second, there must be some agreements with other political parties, including the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML. On Thursday, the NC and UML held a bilateral meeting. Though, we are not quite sure what transpired at the meeting, it is said the parties have decided to push for the completion of the peace process first and constitution drafting later. If this is so, the peace process will not move ahead. We hold the view that the peace process and constitution drafting should move ahead simultaneously. So it is important for the party to hold talks with the NC leaders and reach consensus.
What is the dispute over the weapons containers handover all about?
Firstly, the peace process, integration and constitution drafting are interrelated. This is not only about the keys handover. Secondly, I must clarify our party´s decisions vis-à-vis the peace process. The first point of the decision is related to the integration issue. A proposal was tabled at the party meeting a day before the decision to hand over the keys to the Special Committee was taken. After holding debates and discussions, the point was removed. But the keys were handed over without holding further discussions. We hold the view that the PLA and the weapons containers should have been handed over to the Special Committee all at once. It was wrong to hand over the keys only as it means disarmament. This dispute has not been resolved as yet. So we have already made public our views that the move is against the party decision.
What will be your argument at the forthcoming CC meeting? It is also stated that the decision was taken secretly ignoring your faction.
We had previously decided to handover the combatants and weapons simultaneously. So the modality for integration should be determined first. The party is supposed to lead the peace process and constitution drafting side by side. They should have held a meeting of the standing committee to clarify the issue.
Besides, I would like to make public some of our decisions that are yet to come out in the media. Some friends including myself put forward some notes of dissent and reservations on the four-point deal signed with the Madhes-based parties. The third point of the agreement that is about the constitution making states that there would be “inclusive democratic republic”.
But “democratic republic” is not the party´s decision. We have been pushing for “people´s federal democratic republic” which is the official decision of the party. So we wrote a note of dissent against that decision. Besides, we also expressed our reservation over some vague points on the agreement. The second point of the agreement is about the implementation of the past commitments which includes the right to property. It states that no one would be deprived of the right to property. But we have the issues of the land tenants and peasants. It is also directed against the scientific land reforms and against the fundamental principle of the party. Similarly, the fourth point of the agreement is about the mass recruitment from the Madhesis. It is agreed that 10,000 from the Madhesis would be recruited unit-wise into the army. I agree that the Madhesis should get space in the army, but there are such demands from other janajatis also. Now, let´s come to the first point of the agreement.
The standing committee had decided to go for unit-wise integration of the PLA, but we later agreed revise the point. Likewise, we had decided to integrate 8,000 PLA into the army, but a compromise was reached on that point too. The number was reduced to 7,000. Similarly, it has been stated that attempts would be made to address the proposals by some countries. This is very abstract. What are the issues that have not been addressed? There are no such issues from China or other countries. We have issues with India only. India has demanded stationing air marshals at the airport, signing an extradition treaty, and keeping Indian army at places, including the Koshi dam. So the agreement reflects that we are ready to agree on such issues.
On top of that, there are seven members in the party´s talks team, but they were not informed about the talks. Only two leaders (Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai) participated in the meeting and struck the deal. We feel that the party is bowing to the demands of others. It is wrong to make compromises on the fundamental principles of the party.
Do you think the current coalition is natural at a time your party has been raising the issue of national sovereignty in view of the widespread perception that the Madhes-based parties sympathize with the southern neighbor?
I don´t want to make comments on this. Sometimes, the events themselves make things clear. We can work with the Madhes-based parties following the party´s norms and values. But it would wrong to bow to others and work with them.
What will be your strategy if the party endorses the keys handover move by a majority vote?
I don´t think the move would be endorsed by a majority vote. I have already made my point clear, and I don´t think the CC would take such a decision.Sometimes you are in a minority and sometimes you are in a majority. At times the decision of the minority is right and that of the majority wrong. It is the first time in my political career that I have been reduced to a minority. I have been in the central committee for nearly 38 years. What I want is to take the decision to the CC and hold debates on the issue. The CC is the supreme body to settle such disputes when you are not holding a general convention.
If it did, will the party split?
Let´s not think that the party would split. The party would move ahead united. Ours is a communist party and we understand the organization as the unity of the opposites. It is important for the party to have debates and discussions. On top of that the peace, integration and constitution drafting processes are reaching their culmination. All these issues should be looked at in their entirety and the peace process and constitution drafting should go hand by hand.
Your chairman has been saying that those who are against peace and constitution would quit the party and would be reduced to ashes. What do you have to say?
It would be wrong for the party to take a wrong path. We would not present ourselves that way. I would say whoever deviates from the party´s norms and values and tactical line would be reduced to ashes.
Why are you called a hardliner?
It is a very strange thing. After I was released from the jail, someone wrote that I was a hardliner. I did not know why. There was no dispute in the party then. There are some who give the name hardliners or softliners. Sushiliji (NC President Sushil Koirala) told me the other day that they call him NC hardliner and me a Maoist hardliner. Just let them say so.
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