E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, JUL 29 -

The hardline faction of the UCPN (Maoist) led by Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya seems to have had its say. Maoist Standing Committee member Dev Gurung has been designated chief whip in the wake of Baidya's objections to the party's soft stance in parliament and constitution writing process. Now, the Maoist  position in parliamentary affairs is likely to be rigid.

 A few days ago, the party's Central Committee meet decided to make Gurung chief whip as part of the internal power sharing process. Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal's close aide--Secretary Post Bahadur Bogati--was performing the duty of the party's chief whip. The Baidya faction first forwarded Gurung's name as home minister but when Dahal refused to give him the home portfolio, it demanded chief whip for Gurung.

Maoist leaders say the decision to send Gurung as chief whip will impact consensus efforts in the parliament. The chief whip has an important role in the parliament's Business Advisory Committee (BAC), the mechanism to settle disputed issues and forge consensus on how to run the parliament. BAC's failure to take timely decisions on crucial issues will affect the functioning of the parliament. Speaker Subas Nembang, Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML are sceptical of Gurung's cooperation. They say Bogati was a flexible and pragmatic leader and that it was easy to work with him. They say Gurung's hard stance is likely to create problems.

There are many examples in parliament and the constitution writing process when Gurung has spoken and taken a stance against the party's official position. “When the Maoists send Gurung as a representative in meetings and negotiations, we never find any conclusion or middle path,” said leaders. In the statute writing process, Gurung opposed even Chairman Dahal's compromise on some crucial issues related to the Judiciary. Gurung also strongly criticized the government's fiscal budget 2010-2011 though the Maoist party had supported it.

The Baidya faction strategically pushed Gurung's name as chief whip after Dahal compromised with other parties on some crucial issues of the constitution writing process and parliamentary affairs.

Posted on: 2011-07-29 11:59

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.
* Full Name
* Address
* Email Address
* Comment
* Captcha	Get another CAPTCHA code
Note:	Comments containing abusive words or slander shall not be published.