Pushpa Kamal Dahal once led the decade-long “people’s war” and actions during that time, as per party documents, also meant “elimination of enemies”.

By the time the “people’ war” ended in 2006, nearly 16,000 people were killed.

Thirteen years later, after serving as the prime minister twice, Dahal now is the current co-chair of the ruling Nepal Communist Party.

On Tuesday, the government decided to act tough on the Communist Party of Nepal, a party now run by Netra Bikram Chand, one of Dahal’s disciples.

Dahal on Thursday said the government decision was taken after the authorities came to know that the Chand-led party had his name on the top of its hit list.

“The government informed me at Baluwatar this morning that Biplav had my name on the top of its hit list,” Dahal said on Thursday while addressing a function organised by the former the CPN-Maoist Centre’s youth wing Young Communist League at Paris Danda.

Biplav is Chand’s nom de guerre since the war days and he continues to identify himself with that name.

“The minute of the [Chand] party’s  central committee meeting, which the government has obtained, has my name on top of the list of people it wanted to exterminate,” Dahal said. “The minute also says a team has already been deployed to execute the decision.”

Chand was one of the trusted fighters of Dahal during the “people’s war” which his Maoist party had launched to bring “revolution” in the country.

After the Maoist party signed a peace deal with then government in 2006, Chand had a gripe that the Dahal had left the fight for revolution halfway. Six years later, Chand, along with Mohan Baidya and Ram Bahadur Thapa, the current home minister, deserted Dahal to form a new Maoist party.

But following differences with Thapa, Chand in November 2014 left Baidya and Thapa to form his own Communist Party of Nepal to launch what he calls “unified revolution”.

Thapa then joined back Dahal’s party and he is now home minister at whose behest the government on Tuesday decided to crack down on Chand outfit, saying it was involved in criminal activities.

The Chand outfit in the past weeks had detonated two bombs in the Capital. One person had died in one of the blasts.

“I have sympathy for my friends. What’s happening?” said Dahal, referring to Chand and his members. “Will my death ensure the survival of federal republican democracy?... and the changes we have brought?” he wondered.

Dahal also had a piece of advice for his former comrades. “Don’t follow the strategy we had devised some 23 years ago. Think of other options if you really want do something,” said Dahal, referring to Chand and his members.