Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the revolutionary who as Prachanda had led a 10-year war demanding a people’s Constitution in Nepal, skipped a key constitution committee meeting on Monday because he had decided to take a break in a resort in the cooler climes of northern Nepal.
He did not attend the meeting of the Constitution Committee, that has the difficult task of drafting the new Constitution, even though it was held after more than two months.
The failure of top political leaders to attend statute meetings had resulted in the Constitution remaining unwritten even after two years. Prachanda skipped the crucial meeting, instead opting to take a break in Sindhupalchowk, the mountainous district in north Nepal that is home to the fabled Sherpas. He was accompanied by his wife Sita, son Prakash and Agni Prasad Sapkota, another senior Maoist leader.
Sapkota is also a member of the Constitution Committee. Prachanda’s attendance in parliament remains among the most dismal. Though his Maoist party staged the uprising to get the present parliament that is also writing the new constitution, he has skipped most of its sessions and failed to inform the house, as per norms.
Prachanda’s absence comes at a time the ruling parties are accusing the Maoists of not caring about a new pro-people Constitution but only having used it as a slogan as stratagem. Though work on writing the new statute started in 2008, it failed to meet the May 28 deadline this year partly due to the Maoist top brass staying away from committee meetings citing lengthy internal party meetings and partly due to the protracted dispute between the former guerrillas and the other two major parties over power.
The Maoists last month bailed the government out of dissolution and a constitutional crisis by agreeing to extend the term of Parliament for another year.
However, given their threat to boycott the House, it remains to be seen if the statute will be ready even by May 2011.