Dahal must give up parliamentary politics for unification, says Biplab

KATHMANDU: Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) General Secretary Netra Bikram Chand ‘Biplab’ has said that his party would consider unifying with CPN (Maoist Center) only if its Chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, is willing to relinquish parliamentary politics.

Speaking at the central committee meeting of the party in Kapilvastu on Thursday, Biplab said unification with the Maoist Center would be possible only if it abandons parliamentary involvement.

Biplab’s close associate, Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma, however, was in favor of unifying with the Maoist Center. “Given Dahal’s willingness to even change the party’s name, we should move forward by unifying with the party,” he said in the central working committee, according to a CPN leader.

Due to the leaders’ differing opinions on the party’s future direction, the central meeting concluded without reaching a decision, the leader said.

General Secretary Biplab presented a political and organizational paper titled ‘Special Tasks in the Special Situation’ during the meeting. The central committee formed 12 groups of members to study the paper and provide their feedback.

Commenting on the paper, many central committee members said that the government was not implementing the three-point agreement reached with the party due to Maoist Center Chairman Dahal. They said that Dahal, despite forming the Socialist Front, seemed reluctant to embrace socialism. “If Dahal is prepared to renounce parliamentary politics, he should communicate that to us. We should pursue separate paths if he chooses to remain in the parliamentary system,” another CPN leader said.

Central committee member Sharad C said arrest warrants for CPN leaders were part of a ploy to force the CPN into surrender. “We need to launch a strong protest program against arrest warrants, the MCC, and the Ncell deal,” he added.

The CPN has decided to exert pressure on the government to implement the three-point agreement. If that doesn’t happen, CPN has decided to organize strong protest programs.