Prachanda,the chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M),someone who was until recently being projected as the synonym of Nepals successful revolution,is now facing serious charges of corruption and nepotism. Two Vice Presidents,Mohan Baidya Kiran and Baburam Bhattarai have alleged that the party headquarters that remain in the stewardship of Prachanda,have not only been promoting and patronising clandestine and illegal business and corruption,but their policy has also resulted in the birth of a neo-rich class. The two Vice Presidents who are often at loggerheads on internal party policy,are surprisingly unified in criticising and exposing Prachanda and his clique openly,as the party gears up for an extended nationwide meeting beginning November 21 in Gorkha district of western Nepal. These allegations are contained in the separate policy papers that the two had submitted to the party headquarters three months ago,after they refused to endorse the papers presented by Prachanda during the last Central committee meeting. While Prachanda favoured launching a mass revolt if the Maoists were not given the government leadership by other parties,Bhattarai advocated a moderate line that the UCPN-M should work together with other forces that were party to the 2006 political movement in Nepal,and that it should also cultivate the pro-democracy countries of the world including India. Baidya favoured that the UCPN-M should go for a mass revolt right away and capture power. While the future policy and approach the party should be taking will be debated in the meeting,what has divided the party rank and file are the serious charges of corruption and nepotism labeled against Prachanda by party leaders. Prachandas brother,daughters,son and a coterie around him are a defamed lot in the general political and media circle in Nepal,but this is for the first time that this is going to dominate the party meeting that will be attended by its cadres and leaders from all levels.
