Flak over lavish house, Prachanda to shift

Criticised by party cadres for his lavish lifestyle, Maoist party chief Prachanda on Sunday announced that he will leave a multi-crore mansion he was living in and move to a more modest accommodation.

The announcement was made at the end of the party's four-day national plenum. During the plenum, Prachanda and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai faced flak for their lifestyles. Speaking to party members, Prachanda said he would only utilise state facilities provided to former prime ministers from now on.

Prachanda's high-profile residence at Lazimpat area, in the heart of the capital, had made headlines soon after he moved in. The mansion belongs to an absentee land lady but some party members insisted it belonged to Prachanda and demanded the ownership be probed.

Prachanda for his part maintained that he had been staying in the house on rent.

At the meet, Prachanda also dismissed all central-level committees of the party including the standing committee and the politburo. However, the four-member central secretariat commitee that includes Prachanda, Bhattarai, vice-chairman Narayankaji Shrestha and minister Posta Bahadur Bogati will function as before.

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