Perhaps for the first time, a senior Maoist leader, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, has spoken on camera and pleaded to the international community through CNN that his organization, the CPN (Maoist), is not a terrorist organisation. At the same time, a fresh controversy has kicked off on the issue of Nepali Maoists on Indian soil amid the possibility of Mahara being present in India.

After Mahara's interview on CNN, Nepal and the wider international community including the US and the European Union are likely to scan India's role vis-?-vis Nepali Maoists once again. India has repeatedly said it is against "Maoist terrorism" and has provided every possible assistance to Nepal in this regard. This is true to some extent, but after Mahara's interview on CNN, foreign diplomats have started raising questions privately on India's role.

The recent statement issued by the Kathmandu bureau of CPN (Maoist) taking responsibility for killing two security staff attached to the US embassy in Kathmandu is likely to have very serious repercussions. Mahara's recent "diplomatic" campaign could be nullified and even aborted if the Maoists are formally enlisted along with the al-Qaeda and Taliban. Perhaps, the Maoist leadership would deem it necessary to further clarify this point.