KATHMANDU, JULY 12: Nepali Congress (NC) leader Dr Shekhar Koirala has made a 12-point allegation against the party’s President Sher Bahadur Deuba for failing to run the party as per the rules and regulations.
In a meeting of the Central Committee held at the party's central office in Sanepa on Monday to review the local level election and formulate provincial and House of Representatives election strategy, Koirala accused the party of deviating from its ideals and principles.
Koirala has alleged that he was forced to issue tickets from the center at some levels even though it was said that coordination at the local level on the basis of local conditions and needs would be done. "The formation of alliance has benefited other parties more than the Congress," Koirala said in a 12-point statement to the Central Committee.
Koirala alleges that tickets were not distributed fairly on the basis of geography, population and ethnic balance by setting criteria of activity, popularity and seniority. "We must carefully review and evaluate the alliance of the past and the upcoming elections within the party," Koirala said, “We must respond to distant, hardworking and loyal friends."
Accusing NC leaders and activists of failing to be positive toward the alliance, he proposed a person-centered alliance in the provincial and House of Representatives elections. Putting forward the proposal of coordination on the basis of need and justification, he said that the party should form an opinion accordingly.
Koirala duo meet as dissident NC leaders regroup against Deuba
Stating that only the leadership was elected from the 14th General Convention, he demanded to convene a policy convention immediately.
Stating that the backbone fraternal and well-wishing institutes of the party have become ineffective, Koirala demanded the leadership decide the office-bearers as per the constitution of the working committee. Koirala reminded that the then government led by KP Sharma Oli had brought the National Investigation, Revenue Investigation Department and the Anti-money Laundering Department under the Prime Minister, indicating that the Prime Minister was moving toward authoritarianism. Stating that undemocratic activities need to be rectified by the coalition government, he said, "It has been almost a year since the current government was formed but why such issues have not been prioritized?” Expressing dissatisfaction over the lack of investigation into corruption scandals, Koirala said, "If the party does not become accountable in terms of leading the government, it will affect the upcoming elections."
Stating that the Oli-led government had violated the constitution by bringing an ordinance on the Constitutional Council contrary to the provisions of the Constitutional Council, he said, "Are we trying to continue this unconstitutional move now?" He accused the government of being unaware of the plight of the poor, the homeless, the workers and the citizens. Stating that the government's incompetence in the governor's case has been exposed, Koirala demanded real information about the country's economy. He said that the impeachment was useless and demanded that it be settled immediately.
Central Member Pradip Poudel stressed that the party's entire attention should be focused on the upcoming province and House of Representatives elections. Pointing out the need for strong unity in the party, Poudel stressed the need for mobilizing the party organizations at all levels.
At the meeting, central member Nain Singh Mahar stressed the need for forming all the bodies from the department saying that 35,000 leaders and cadres would get responsibility when all the bodies of the party were given full shape. Stating that some local level results were not in his favor due to internal disputes and infighting within the party in the local level elections, Maher stressed disciplinary action against the rebel candidates, their supporters and those who did not cooperate with the alliance.
Emphasizing that only four generations of coordination, understanding and belonging can bring the result of the upcoming election in favor of the party, Maher said, "Since a large section of the party is young, they should be made candidates and their mentality needs to be understood."
There is no point in forming an alliance for the sake of alliance, he said.
The meeting of the NC Central Committee, which is engaged in review after two months of local level elections, and started on Monday has made discussions on party alliances. In the meeting of the Central Committee, the province chairpersons expressed their views on the local elections and said that there was not enough support for the parties in the alliance during the election. Mahar said that the Nepali Congress was weak in the province even when Lumbini President Amar Singh Pun formed an alliance. Stating that the Maoists did not even want to take the name of alliance in the province, he said, "Even after the alliance, we could not win many seats. The Maoists are strong in the province. The party did not even want to take the name of the alliance. The alliance was formed only where they were weak. It would have been better to fight alone than through an alliance.”
Province 1 President Uddhav Thapa, on the other hand, said that the party became the first party in his province due to the alliance. "Congress has become number one in Province 1 because of the alliance," he said. Madhesh Province President Krishna Prasad Yadav said that the coalition parties betrayed in the local elections. While the Maoist Center, the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) accused the Congress, Yadav said, "The Congress has formed District Coordination Committees (DCCs) in four of the eight districts in Madhesh. But other parties in the coalition betrayed the NC by supporting the UML in the election.” NC’s Bagmati Province President Indra Baniya, on the other hand, claimed that the alliance had succeeded and the position of the Nepali Congress had improved. NC’s Gandaki President Shukra Raj Sharma said that the ruling coalition was formed in a hurry and that it did not bring the right result.
In Monday's meeting, Deputy Chairman Purna Bahadur Khadka and Spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat submitted two reports on local level elections. The Central Committee meeting will reconvene on Tuesday noon.
