Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Pushpa Kamal Dahal and most of the leaders in the party coming from the erstwhile Maoist party did not attend the Asia Pacific Summit held recently in Kathmandu.
Dahal was also invited to address the summit that had the government as co-sponsor. He ignored the invitation as the program was organized by the controversial organization Universal Peace Federation, according to a party source. His secretariat published pictures of him getting his teeth checked.
CPN leaders coming from the then CPN-UML were an integral part of the summit. Senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal chaired the summit while Chairman and Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli left the official residence at Baluwatar and stayed at Soaltee Hotel for three days. PM received a medal and cash prize of US$ 100,000 for his troubles.
A CPN secretariat member recalled how chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties and office-bearers of the Universal Peace Federation had arrived in Nepal three months ago to discuss about the summit.
PM Oli, Dahal, senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal and Narayan Kaji Shrestha were invited to Radisson Hotel to meet the ICAPP chairman after a secretariat meeting. Dahal and Shrestha became suspicious after seeing Eknath Dhakal and federation office-bearers along with those from ICAPP.
A party source claimed that former foreign minister Shrestha had boycotted that meeting. “Narayan Kaji Shrestha told Jhala Nath Khanal ‘They have arrived with worthless persons. It is not right to organize this program in Nepal,’” a party leader who had arranged the meeting told Setopati. “Shrestha then left the meeting telling the PM that he has a work to attend to.”
Dahal stayed for a while.
The party source claims that Shrestha was against holding the summit in Nepal and asked why the party is following the church in a secretariat meeting.
Dhakal was a minister in the Baburam Bhattarai government when Shrestha was deputy PM and foreign minister. Dhakal had brought a proposal to organize the program with the government remaining co-organizer. The then PM Bhatatrai had agreed and written to the Foreign Ministry but Shrestha opposed that.
Shrestha had confronted Dhakal in a Cabinet meeting and chided him for running an INGO while serving as minister and proposing government involvement in the program.
Another CPN secretariat member confirmed that Shrestha had opposed the program even in the secretariat meeting held a few days back.
Not just former Maoists but even those from the then UML had opposed the program. The party source said PM Oli participated in the program organized by the missionary organization defying opposition inside the party. “We don’t know his compulsion. He knew that the organization is controversial,” the secretariat member stated.
CPN leaders from the then UML Bhim Rawal and Ghanashyam Bhusal have publicly slammed the government for participation in the program.
“The government and party cannot be misused for vested interests of any individual or private institution. Must be careful about national interest and diplomatic dignity and consequence (sic). People should be told how much money those organizing the summit in the name of peace got and from where,” Rawal tweeted in an apparent dig at Oli.
Bhusal went even further and tweeted, “Generations of this country will have to pay for the national parade of cultural degeneration and nakedness of the leaders that was displayed in the past few days.”
Former Maoist leaders have exercised restraint fearing that doing so may derail unification process.
“It was not a UN body nor was any regional organization. PM should not have attended a program organized purely for promoting religion,” the secretariat member opined.
