Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, coordinator of the Nepal Socialist Party (Naya Shakti) Convention Organizing Committee, has questioned recent calls for former Maoist leaders to reunite.
He specifically challenged the rationale behind supporting CPN (Maoist Center) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal for another stint in parliamentary power.
In a message posted to his social media page on Friday, Bhattarai questioned the rationale behind bringing all former Maoists together.
Bhattarai responded to suggestions from Dahal’s allies about reuniting former Maoists, including his New Force party. “What’s the purpose of bringing all former Maoists together? Is it to launch another people’s war? For mere festivities? Or simply to help Prachanda secure another term in parliamentary power? What’s the ideological and political justification?” Bhattarai questioned.
Bhattarai added that while Dahal claims that he was targeted by internal and external forces for pursuing certain corruption cases, he conveniently forgets how these same forces helped him change seats of power multiple times in the past 18 months. “And what’s so heroic about sacrificing your own minor allies?” Bhattarai added.
The former Maoist leader said he left his electoral seat in Gorkha for Dahal because he felt he should support the alliance of the Nepali Congress (NC), Maoist Center and other parties to take the peace process to its logical end. “After the election, the Maoist Center formed the government with CPN-UML. There were plans to complete key tasks by forming a national government including NC, UML, Maoist and others. But everything fell apart after geopolitics came into play,” Bhattarai said. “The consequences of the musical chairs game since then, driven mainly by Dahal’s hunger for power, are obvious to everyone.”
