Indian Military

KATHMANDU: The mighty People's Liberation Army (PLA) of Nepal's ruling Maoist party, that had waged a relentless war on the state for 10 years and been instrumental in the fall of King Gyanendra's army-backed regime in 2006, tasted a major defeat on Thursday with the parliamentary parties agreeing on giving it its marching orders – from the new constitution that is being drafted.
A committee of MPs formed to resolve disputes among the parties while writing the new constitution, that is headed by Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda himself, the man who was the supreme commander of the PLA when it fought the "People's War" from 1996, agreed on Thursday that the guerrilla army would have no mention in the preamble of the constitution.
For three years, the Maoists, once an underground party, had stuck to their demand that the PLA, whose battle paved the way for the new constitution, should get honourable mention in the new statute. But faced with intractable opposition, Prachanda gave in finally, especially with the other committee members pointing out that as per the peace accord signed by the Maoists, the PLA would be dissolved before the new statute comes into effect.

The nearly 20,000 guerrilla fighters will have to be inducted in security forces or rehabilitated, a project that has been remained blocked for two years.
However, the former insurgents are still asking for their "People's War" to be mentioned in the preamble and Mukunda Sharma, parliament spokesman, said that dispute was yet to be resolved. The other parties have been resisting this demand on the ground that there have been several armed uprisings and even now, over two dozen armed groups are active in the Terai plains; so singling out the PLA for the honour would fuel further disputes.
The Maoists, now the dominant partner in the ruling coalition, had to also give up their demand over the christening of the upcoming statute. It would now be simply the Constitution of Nepal without any adjectives, Sharma told TNN. The Maoists had been asking that the new constitution title include "federal, secular republic".
Ironically, while it took the parties almost three years to decide on the new title, the constitution is yet to be ready. There are still 22 contentious issues left, including serious ones like the election method in future and the form of government. The Maoists are seeking a presidential form of government.
Only nine days are left for the constitutional deadline to end and Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal has already indicated his government would not be able to complete the task. Khanal, who became premier three months ago by signing a clandestine agreement with the Maoists, is now seeking to have the May 28 deadline extended by a year. The proposal has been opposed by the main opposition parties and triggered anger among citizens. Khanal's proposal is likely to be put to vote in parliament on May 26 and fresh uncertainties are on the card for the nascent republic – including a possible change in government.