PUSHPA Kamal Dahal Prachanda,Nepals Maoist leader with a well-documented weakness for capitalist luxuries,has triggered a new debate in the local media with an allegedly questionable acquisition of a new,ultra plush home in the heart of Kathmandu. Prachandas new home in Lazimpat has separate residence and office wings set in a sprawling compound amid lawns,a swimming pool and a badminton court. The residence mansion is reserved for the family,while the office wing a large,15-room building is meant for his secretarial and security staff. Prachandas son Prakash has described the home as rented on Facebook,and said his father moved because of security reasons. His earlier home in Nayabazar,also rented,did not have enough parking space,and was not suited to a man of Prachandas stature,Prakash said. The new home has parking space for about 10 vehicles at a time. Last week,Prachanda received former prime minister Madhav Nepal at his residence,saying,You are my first guest among senior leaders in this new house. Prachandas next-door neighbour is retired general Shanta Kumar Malla,a former ADC to King Birendra. Family sources said Prachanda was paying a monthly rent of Rs 60,000 for the house,but his nephew Sameer Dahal,while revealing that a five-year rental agreement had been signed,claimed the rent was yet to be decided. The daily Nagarik said the rent was Rs 1,03,000 per month. The weekly tabloid Sanghu made a different,startling claim: that Prachanda has actually bought the house for Rs 100.2 million,a price much lower than that prevalent in the area. According to the weekly,the property,owned by one Nawal Singhania Agarwal,was transferred to someone called Shishu Aryal at the land revenue office in Kathmandus Dilli Bazar on July 29,2011. All of this has triggered significant disquiet in Prachandas Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M). Prachanda has been seen wearing luxury Rado watches and designer suits,and has been known to lay claim to horses and SUVs during both war and peacetime yet,the unclear source of funds for his new home has troubled party leaders and workers. This only confirms the fear expressed by Maoist vice-chairman Mohan Biadhya Kiran that the party chief (Prachanda) has failed to honour the issue of probity in public life, a senior journalist affiliated to the UCPN-M said.
