http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100111/jsp/nation/story_11968296.jsp
Last week’s bitter exchanges between Nepal’s top two Maoist leaders, Prachanda
and Baburam Bhattarai, may be indicative of a maturing ideological rift that
goes beyond a mere personality tiff.
The verbal feud between them has been unprecedented enough, not least because
it was blunt and, perhaps for the first time, allowed to play out in the open.
Prachanda had all but labelled Bhattarai an Indian agent, telling a meeting of
cadres that New Delhi had sent him signals it was willing to broker the
Maoists’ return to power but only if Bhattarai was made a prime ministerial
nominee. Bhattarai responded with a rare and rash public rebuttal, saying his
party boss’s remark amounted to “character assassination”.
But Prachanda did not stop at painting his revolutionary comrade-in-arms into
the ugly “Indian” corner; he proceeded to barricade any steps that Bhattarai
might take towards prime ministership by getting the party to adopt a fresh
resolution that, should the Maoists return to power, Prachanda, and none else,
would be the Prime Minister.
Senior Nepali Maoists are tight-lipped about the roots and ramifications of
this extraordinary outbreak at the top, but few are convinced this is only
about personal ambitions.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that Prachanda and Bhattarai have come to
divergent conclusions about where the party should go from here,” a respected
political observer told The Telegraph from Kathmandu on telephone. “They have
been out of power and are faced with opposition from big vested interests
within and outside the country. Bhattarai clearly thinks democratic struggle is
still capable of delivering the Maoist objective. Many in the party, including
Prachanda, have begun to disagree.”
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