Saran's meeting with Bhattarai raises eyebrows among Maoists

Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu, Aug 9 (PTI) Special Indian envoy Shyam
Saran's recent meeting with Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai
has stirred controversy within the party ranks, with a section
raising questions over a 'one-on-one' between the two and
demanding that a clarification be sought from the Maoist No 2.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy
Saran visited Nepal last week and met top political players,
including Maoist chief Prachanda.
But, party members close to Prachanda seem unhappy
over Saran's separate meeting with the Maoist Vice Chairman,
that came amidst a lingering political crisis in Nepal where
the Constituent Assembly has failed four times to elect a
prime minister.
Maoist politburo member Barsha Man Pun 'Ananta' told
media persons that he saw the meeting as a 'mistake' and
suggested that the party seek a clarification from Bhattarai
over the issue. Many see Bhattarai as soft towards India as
against Prachanda, who is known for his anti-India rhetoric.
"Why was it necessary for him to meet Saran one-to-one
when all the office-bearers had jointly met him (Saran)," said
Pun.
It has also been revealed that the Maoist chairman
Prachanda also held a one-to-one meeting with Saran after the
latter met Bhattarai, hours before he left for India on
Friday.
According to media reports, both Dahal and Bhattarai
knew about each other's separate meetings with Saran.
However, party leaders close to Prachanda have
objected to Bhattarai's private meeting with Saran. PTI SBP
MYR