Nepal Maoist fighters at odds for picking tainted leaders in top body

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s ruling UCPN Maoist’s former people’s liberation army (PLA) have expressed dissatisfaction of the selection of some of their ‘tainted’ comrades in the party’s top decision making body.

The dissatisfaction came minutes before the the seventh general convention of the party in the post war era announced a 98 member jumbo central committee unanimously-skipping the ballot box.

Some of the disgruntled former Maoist fighters claimed that some leaders were selected for the top mechanism even though they were accused of graft and moreover some had resigned from the party following disciplinary action from the party.

Former PLA commander Santu Darai (aka Parwana), Tej Bahadur Oli (Prateek), Dhan Bahadur Maskey (Rajesh) and Kali Bahadur Kham (Bibidh) were accused of graft during the party’s earlier Bhirkutimandap meet.

However these former commanders who were accused of slashing off the pay of ex-PLA’s retirement allowance were picked up by the party in its central body on Saturday before concluding.

Though some of the party leaders had protested against the decision and demanding action against them during the party’s closed session, the party leadership nominated them to the central committee, irking those demanding justice.

12 commanders of the PLAs had resigned in the Bhirkuti Mandap after PLAs cantoned across various cantonments had accused them of embezzling millions of funds released by the government as salary and compensation for the PLAs residing in the cantonments and opting for voluntary retirement.

The party had formed an investigation panel in the leadership of Maoist leader Post Bahadur Bogati to investigate the accusations that pointed the involvement of the senior leadership of the party too.

On Friday, Bogati had presented his investigation report in the party’s closed session, but majority of lower rung of the party cadres had slammed it claiming it covered all the corrupts and was impartial.