Baidya to run party affairs

Baidya to run party affairs
Pun named PLA chief
POST REPORT
http://www.kantipur online.com/ kolnews.php? nid=160397

KATHMANDU, Sept 12 - The CPN (Maoist) on Friday gave charge of the
party organization to Mohan Baidya, the senior-most politburo member
of the party who has been regarded lately as a hardliner.
The party's Central Secretariat meeting Friday also appointed Nanda
Kishor Pun as commander-in- chief of the party's military wing, the
People's Liberation Army (PLA). The post had remained vacant after
Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned from it upon being appointed prime
minister last month.

Pun a.k.a. "Pasang", was one of the deputy commanders of the 19,000-
strong PLA, and second only to party supremo Dahal. The secretariat
appointed Baidhya Organization Department Chief of the party and
gave him entire charge of party affairs.

"The secretariat meeting changed responsibilities of some comrades
and I was given responsibility of organisation department," said
Baidya.

Baidya had been expressing his disenchantment ever since the party
elected Dr Baburam Bhattarai as its deputy leader in the Constituent
Assembly. Since then, he had been keeping to the back benches in the
CA as a protest, and even tendered resignation from the assembly.
But the party has remained silent on the issue for weeks.

Baidya was the party's general secretary before he handed over
charge to Dahal shortly before the party launched the armed
insurgency that has claimed more than 13,000 lives.

The decision on the two appointments comes after Prime Minister
Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced that party leaders elected to the
Constituent Assembly (CA) would not have any attachment to the PLA.

According to a Maoist source, the meeting gave responsibility of
parliamentary affairs to Post Bahadur Bogati while C.P. Gajurel will
continue to look after the party's foreign affairs wing.

During the meeting, Maoist secretariat members suggested to Prime
Minister Dahal not to sign any treaties or agreements that will have
long-term consequences during his upcoming India visit. They also
asked the prime minister to take up with the Indians issues of
immediate concern to Nepal including the Koshi deluge and trade and
transit issues.