BUTWAL: Janardan Sharma, Deputy General Secretary of the CPN (Maoist Centre), blamed party Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ for the split of the former Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) following its unification with the CPN-UML.
Speaking at a dialogue on “Current Political Crisis and Way Forward” organized by the ‘Martyrs and Disappeared Memorial Foundation’ in Butwal, Sharma said the Maoist party is prepared to make any sacrifice for internal restructuring, warning that failure to reorganize could trigger a serious crisis.
Sharma’s remarks were in response to Prachanda’s comments in Biratnagar, where the Maoist Centre Chair accused Sharma of aligning with internal interest groups.
Prachanda had said the Maoist movement would continue despite dissent from individuals like Sharma.
Countering from Butwal, Sharma accused the leadership of treating the party as personal property.
“Restructuring is essential, and communist unification is the need of the hour,” he said, adding that he was willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve party reorganization beyond vested interests.
He cited leaders such as Netra Bikram Chand and Ghanashyam Bhusal as witnesses to his stance.
Sharma also blamed Prachanda’s confrontational approach during dual leadership with Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli for the CPN’s collapse.
He criticized frequent changes in coalition governments under Prachanda, saying such decisions had plunged the Maoist Centre into crisis.
“After the 2022 elections, we had the opportunity to lead the government and had even initiated some work,” Sharma said. “But we ruined it ourselves.”
Sharma added that Prachanda’s constant alliance shifts have left the party unable to address public agendas.
“Instead, we are now only watching scandals unfold, and we ourselves are responsible for that,” he said.
Earlier in Biratnagar, Prachanda told reporters that doubts expressed by figures such as Sharma would not stop the party, the movement, or its history.