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As if it makes any difference.
In fact, the whole thing is beginning to look like an elaborate charade to distract attention from more pressing problems of governance, and to hoodwink an impatient cadre base. There are more fundamental issues at stake here, however. Who gave Minister of Culture and State Restructuring Gopal Kirati the authority to hand out a concept paper draft in Government of Nepal stationery about his vision of a restructured state? Is he speaking as government, as party member or as an individual?
Similarly, the three options that Pushpa Kamal Dahal submitted for consideration this week to his party's Central Committee is ultra vires-beyond the scope or authority of that body. Political parties, Maoists or otherwise, have no right to unilaterally go beyond the limits set by the constitution. The future nature of the Nepali state is the purview of the elected members of the CA.
Prime Minister Dahal's proposal for a 'democratic republic' is therefore not a 'moderate' viewpoint at all. It is as subversive as the proposal for permanent revolution that Mohan Baidya has put forward. Both seem set to sabotage the peace process that brought the Maoists out of the jungles.
Hope, however, lies in the grassroots. Other than the now city- based YCL types there is little support for hardliners among the masses that voted Maoist in April.
The course-correction adopted by Chunbang plenum in 2005 wasn't just a tactical move; it was a strategic decision to transform the party from a revolutionary machine into a political outfit. Turning the clock back to 2003 will invite the wrath of the voters. The Maoist leadership is under tremendous internal pressure, but this factionalism is more personality driven than ideological in nature.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal needs to realise that he became prime minister because his party got the most votes in the April elections, so he doesn't have to threaten or extort anyone anymore. Why is he squandering his mandate by letting the YCL and the krantikaris continue with violence and threats? He is undermining the very democratic process that propelled him to power and is creating conditions for his own downfall.
The coalition Dahal heads is a transitional entity with three jobs: take the peace process forward, assist the CA in framing a new constitution and ensure a functioning government. Everything else is either a diversionary tactic or sheer waste of time.
