National
Had ties with palace during insurgency: Dahal
CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has disclosed that he had held face-to-face talks with former King Birendra Shah’s brother Dhirendra Shah during insurgency period.CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has disclosed that he had held face-to-face talks with former King Birendra Shah’s brother Dhirendra Shah during insurgency period.
“We were making efforts to hold dialogue. Our party colleagues had held direct communication with Birendra’s brother Dhirendra,” said Dahal.
Speaking during the launch of a book titled “Aansha” by journalist Ujir Magar in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Dahal claimed that they were holding talks with the palace when the royal massacre took place. “We were discussing technical issues of dialogue when the Palace massacre took place. Nepali politics took a new turn following the royal massacre,” said Dahal.
He added there was a historic need for the republic and democratic forces to work together in the aftermath of the royal massacre.
“Because of the adverse situation, the then Seven Party Alliance and former rebel Maoists had to sign the 12-point understanding in New Delhi despite the willingness to do it in Nepal,” said Dahal.
Dahal’s statement has lend credence to the claims made by Nepali Congress and CPN-UML that the Maoists had been establishing relations with the palace from the days of armed struggle. Dahal went on to claim that his party was compelled to accept republic and democracy.
The former prime minister, who was the supreme commander of the then rebel party, further claimed that the armed struggle was the result of political situation rather than the mental desire of a leader. “We wanted people’s war in 1987 itself. Then we had acquired arms and conducted training in Gorkha. But the country’s politics took a different turn,” said Dahal.
“If we had launched armed struggle during the streets movement against Panchayat, it could have sent a message that we were supporting Panchayat regime against the movement,” he noted.