Seeks seven more days to settle internal rows for completing party unification process
KATHMANDU, Feb 8: After failing to forge consensus on modalities for the ongoing party unification process and resolve internal party differences, an intra-party task-force of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is submitting an incomplete report to the party leadership.
The task-force headed by Ram Bahadur Thapa has sought seven more days for a last-ditch effort to settle unresolved disputes.
“The coordinator will submit a report incorporating the progress made so far. He will request the party leadership for seven more days so that we can complete the remaining tasks,” said Yogesh Bhattarai, a task-force member assigned to suggest a basis for completing the stalled party unification process.
Taskforces to submit report within 15 days
A meeting of the intra-party task-force on Friday concluded that a middle path should be adopted and an incomplete report presented, seeking additional time for completing the task.
The task-force reached the conclusion after task-force members themselves became divided over ways to settle internal organizational rows. The party leadership had mounted pressure on task-force members to submit a report encompassing whatever progress they had achieved.
Members of the task-force became divided after coordinator Thapa and member Bishnu Poudel, who is also general secretary of the NCP , came up with the report in order to legalize the existing provincial committees. Some task-force members including Bhattarai, Barsha Man Pun and Surendra Pandey voiced their reservations and demanded that disputed provincial committees should be reshuffled to facilitate party mobilization.
The disgruntled leaders have been demanding enforcement of a One Leader One Position policy .
As differences surfaced over the responsibilities of senior party leaders, the dissatisfied leaders threatened to submit a parallel report .
Some influential party leaders, namely as Shankar Pokharel and Prithivi Subba Gurung, have been holding the responsibilities of both party chief in the province and chief of the provincial government. Disgruntled party leaders have pushed for them to relinquish their responsibilities either in the government or in the party.
With a view to pacifying the anti-Oli camp, task-force member Poudel has proposed to add 10 percent to the membership of the already announced provincial committees. But the disgruntled group has been demanding the reshuffling of the committees.
“The row has not yet been resolved,” said a task force member.Those involved in trying to resolve the internal row have suggested the party leaders take the crucial decisions through the standing committee, contrary to the existing provision of mandating the party secretariat to take such decisions. Only nine of the top leaders are included in the secretariat.
Leaders of the party believe transparency could be maintained and faulty decisions averted if major decisions are taken through the standing committee and more people are involved in the decision-making .
A standing committee meeting on December 28 had formed a nine-member task force headed by Thapa and with the mandate of finalizing work division among central committee members and laying the ground for completing the remaining tasks of the unification process by mid-January. As of now, the task-force has not succeeded in completing the given assignment.
Due to lack of concrete unification criteria, the party has failed to elect district and local leaderships and its efforts to expand the party organization have stalled for months. The central departments of the party and its sister organisations have become totally dysfunctional.
