Nepal Maoist chief to shun luxuries, promises reforms
Nepal’s Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has agreed to shun personal luxuries and initiate long awaited reforms in the ruling party. Utpal Parashar reports.
Nepal’s Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has agreed to shun personal luxuries and initiate long awaited reforms in the ruling party. Faced with strong criticism from fellow comrades, Chairman of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) made the announcement on Saturday during closing session of the party’s plenum.
Prachanda will be vacating his palatial residence at Lazimpat in the centre of Kathmandu to which he had moved in this January amid doubts on its acquisition.
“I am a former prime minister and from now will use facilities provided by the government,” Dahal is stated to have told the gathering amidst cheers from party cadres.
Prachanda announced dissolution of all party committees and promised to hold the next general convention early next year, the first since 1990, to elect a new leadership.
The plenum agreed on forming a financial and accounts panel and handing over of properties belonging to Prachanda and his deputies Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha to the party.
Leaders from the party say the steps will help unite all factions within the party and bring it back on its ideological track.
Interestingly, the announcement came a day after ‘clash’ between factions owing allegiance to Prachanda and prime minister Baburam Bhattarai during the five-day plenum.