Nepal’s top Maoist politician, who led a 10-year insurgency in the Himalayan country which left 16,000 people dead, was accused on Monday of selling out after moving into a lavish mansion in Kathmandu. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who goes by the nom-de-guerre Prachanda (The Fierce One), is a former Communist guerrilla who rose from humble village beginnings to lead a “people’s war” against Nepal’s Royal family and its political elites. The rented 15-room property – 1,500 square metres (16,000 sq feet) of prime real estate near the bustling city center – includes parking space for more than a dozen vehicles and a table tennis room, his office said.
“The Maoists have deviated from their stated goal. It used to be socialism but now they have surrendered to bourgeois state power,” said Mumaram Khanal, a political analyst and former Maoist leader. “It is natural in such a situation to transform into someone with the characteristics of a member of parliamentary politics. They are revolutionary only in words, not in deeds.” Prachanda, 58, led a Maoist insurgency which culminated in the overthrow of the Shah dynasty in 2008.
Prachanda’s personal assistant, Samir Dahal, said the politician had been advised of “security concerns” over his old residence. The new mansion costs the Maoist party just over Rs 100,000 ($1300) a month, the aide said, a modest sum in many countries but almost three times the average annual income in Nepal.