Three Maoist parties celebrated the 22nd anniversary of their “People’s War” separately, attacking one another.

Ruling CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the supreme commander of the Maoist force when it waged an insurgency, claimed that feudalists and imperialists always use extremists on the left and right. Dahal was referring to the CPN Maoist led by Netra Bikram Chand.

Holding Dahal responsible for all the incidents of the decade-long war against the state security forces, Chand said the government had been arresting his party cadres.

Defending the position taken by the Maoist Centre, PM Dahal said extremists always played on the sentiments of the people while they were readily used against the revolutionary communist movement by “feudalists and imperialists”.

Addressing a function at the party headquarters, Dahal claimed that his party was the first to safeguard national independence and integrity. However, all three Maoist parties have realised that they were weakened due to fragmentation. The leaders highlighted the need for unity among like-minded forces to recover power and safeguard the achievements of the conflict that claimed around 15000 lives.

The Baidya-led CPN Revolutionary Maoist celebrated the anniversary at its office in Kupandole on Sunday. In a statement, Baidya claimed that “deviation towards rightist revisionism in the core leadership led the Maoist movement to a serious obstacle”.

One of the former deputies of PM Dahal, Baburam Bhattarai has abandoned the Maoist ideology to form the Naya Shakti Nepal. On the eve of the 22nd anniversary of the rebellion, Bhattarai sought apology on social media for the pains and damages inflicted due to the conflict saying that he would take “my share of responsibility”.

According to Chand, more than 2,000 people are still missing and thousands are living miserable lives due to injuries. The living standard of the people has not improved despite the Maoists forming their governments several times.