Prachanda

Kathmandu, May 5: A year-old video clip that shows Prachanda bragging has surfaced in Nepal, its contents lending credence to India’s fears that the Maoists wanted to pack their country’s army with loyalists.

A TV channel today beamed footage of Prachanda, who quit as Nepal Prime Minister yesterday, saying how his guerrillas would “easily dominate” the other soldiers once they were inducted into the Nepal army.

Prachanda also describes how he had misled UN peace monitors with inflated figures about the strength of the Maoist guerrilla wing, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), to try and get as many rebels into the army as possible.

The private Image Channel said the video was a recording of Prachanda’s address to PLA commanders and combatants at Shatikhor cantonment in Chitwan on January 2 last year — four months before he took over as Prime Minister.

“We all know that the real strength of the PLA is between 7,000 and 8,000. We had to give the figure of 35,000 to increase our numbers in the camps,” Prachanda says in the video.

The false information was apparently given to UN officials verifying PLA combatants before housing them in UN-monitored camps to await absorption into the army. India had been against a quick induction, fearing it would hand the Maoists full control of the army.

In the tape, Prachanda claims the integration of even a small number of PLA combatants into the army would be enough. “Our soldiers are politically awakened and they will easily dominate those who take part merely in ceremonial parades (ordinary officers and soldiers),” he says. “It’s no surprise that the Nepal army chief, Rukmagat Katuwal, is opposed to the integration process.”

This opposition led Prachanda to fire Katuwal on Sunday and then tender his own resignation a day later after the President overruled the sacking. Prachanda left with an oblique barb at India’s perceived pro-Katuwal stand.

Senior Maoist leader Mohan Baidya “Kiran” said the tape was genuine but claimed it merely reflected the Maoist strategy two years ago. “Now the situation has changed.”

UN officials had disqualified nearly 17,000 of the 35,000 rebels presented before them. The army has about 90,000 personnel, including officers.

President Ram Baran Yadav today asked all the 25 parties in parliament to form a new government by Saturday. Leaders of 23 parties met today and decided the next government should be led by the communist CPN(UML) but the Maoists boycotted the meeting.