KATHMANDU: The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) is still in a quagmire as the party has failed to narrow down the differences between the two warring factions.
The party leadership is in a dilemma whether to go ahead with the central working meeting called for today or postpone it as the faction led by senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel is boycotting the meeting called by party President Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Hridaya Ram Thani, a confidante of Poudel, said they are not in a position to participate in today’s central committee meeting as the party leadership has turned deaf ears to the issues raised by the disgruntled faction.
This shows that the intra-party wrangling in the main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, will not be narrowed down without the establishment side showing flexibility to the demands of the dissatisfied section.
Meanwhile, party Vice President Bimalendra Nidhi is said to have telephoned leader Singh urging the disgruntled faction to come to the party office to discuss debated issues. “Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba is ready to maintain flexibility,” Nidhi has been quoted as saying today.
The Poudel-led faction then held a meeting at the residence of party leader Prakash Man Singh to discuss the issue.
“The party leadership, mainly Deuba, is not prepared to show flexibility,” Thani said.
It should be noted that party President Sher Bahadur Deuba had on December 12 presented proposals that included increasing the number of party departments to 51 from 28, the formation of Nepal Tarun Dal, Nepal Students Union, among others to the central committee meeting for discussion.
While the Deuba faction has been insisting to hold the general convention in March 2021, the Poudel faction has been adamant to its stance that the convention should be held in December 2020.
The central committee meeting has been postponed for several times owing to intra-party differences.
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