KATHMANDU: A close confidant of Prime Minister K P Oli who is also the co-chair of Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Gokul Baskota who is also the Information and Technology Minister was in a jovial mood on last Shrawan 9 before a host of journalists.

“I am speaking in a capacity of a member of NCP standing committee, not as Minister of Information and Technology. Okay, I have one interesting thing to share. I love everything and everyone but I don’t like you. Can one say like this?”

Such a romantic statement spoken by the Minister Baskota in a hall of Ministry of Information and Technology amused the present journalists and they broke into laughter. Even minister Baskota couldn’t stop smiling himself.

The context of the whole episode is set in a raging controversy nowadays as to who will get the school training department within the ruling party. Since the issue in hand is related to the ruling party, not the government, therefore, Minister Baskota answered the question as to who will head the school training department in the capacity of being a member of the standing committee of the party.

The question why the important meetings of secretariat all scheduled in advance are being postponed is bothering all the right-minded citizens who voted the NCP into power.

It is to note here that (due to postponement) no meeting of secretariat took place on July 23 and 25. The meeting was again postponed on July 28 despite the reply given by Minister Baskota on Shrawan 25. Somehow, a very-short meeting of one hour took place on July 29 but it was inconsequential in terms of a concrete result.

Again after 15 days, a scheduled meeting of secretariat got postponed. The question why the important meetings of secretariat all scheduled in advance are being postponed is bothering all the right-minded citizens who voted the NCP into power.

Here is the answer to the misplaced priority of the ruling party. The ruling party – NCP – is involved in settling the inner-party conflict sidelining the important secretariat meeting for deciding upon the issues that government is confronting.

Why is this school training department and who will handle the same has become national news. What exactly is the school training department within the ruling party NCP? The school training department within the ruling party is about schooling and training new entrants and other fresh minds about the communist ideology – both radical (as Maoist wing within the party wants) and soft (as UML wing wants) in order to make them devout communists and make them of fixed mind-frame to become never-to-change the party ideology.

Erstwhile UML leaders and their cadres want their own leader to head the school and training department, which is being opposed by the erstwhile Maoists and other radicals from Narayan Kaji Shrestha group.

‘Catch them early’ is the mantra on which this ‘school and training department’ works in influencing the mind of youth before they switch over to some other political ideology. The reason for actual tussle is not about the ideology of communism as a soft stance for opting ‘multi-party democracy’ is all accepted norm at least till today by the present ruling party.

This is being challenged by Janabaad (populism) as a newly adopted creed of the party under the influence of Maoists and other radical communist splinter groups who have joined the party lately. This is why the Maoists wing wants their leader to head the school and training department as they claim to be fiercer and more radical communists compared to erstwhile UML leaders within the party.

Erstwhile UML leaders and their cadres want their own leader to head the school and training department, which is being opposed by the erstwhile Maoists and other radicals from Narayan Kaji Shrestha group.

This is the first time a national debate has started on this internal party issue which has now turned out to be a hot national issue. A leader on the promise of not disclosing his name said, ”In those days, Pushpa Lal Shrestha, the then General Secretary of the Nepal Communist Party, was very sensitive regarding who to handle school and training department and how.

He used to take stock of all the activities of this department if schooling of ideology is going on or not and who are the people inside and outside the party. However, this kind of interest as demonstrated by Pushpa Lal Shrestha was not a trend amongst other senior leaders till then.”

After the Maoists and UML joined hands together about 14 months ago to emerge as biggest ever communist party of Nepal, the school and training department has begun to gather a lot of attention. Yogesh Bhattarai, a leader of NCP wonders why there is so much of noise about appointing the head sir of school and training department of the party.

Beduram Bhusal, who has successfully handled the school department in the past, also concordant with Bhattarai sees no reason for making this issue as to who will head the department as the topmost controversial issue of the party. However, the head of the schooling and training department has become a post of honor involving great vested political interest as both the wings — the leaders of the erstwhile Maoists and UML are at loggerheads and baying for the post.

Chairman and Prime Minister K. P. Oli wants Ishwar Pokharel, former General Secretary , to be appointed at this post. The PM’s recommendation for Pokharel who supports ‘multi-party democracy’ enraged the Maoists within the party.

To counter PM Oli’s recommendation, co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda proposed the name of his Maoist colleague Narayan Kaji Shrestha to head the Schooling and Training Department.

Pokharel has started taking up the leadership of all the UML wing in the unified communist party. He has been consolidating the UML leaders and cadres to draw on their support. At present, the NCP is being run and managed by two leaders – Pushpa Kamal Dahal and K P Oli.

On the genuine debate over ‘who after Oli’ — Ishwar Pokharel is slowly stepping into shoes of Oli. Having learned the same, Maoists wing have launched their fierce attack on K P Oli. Unexpected turn within the party where noted senior leaders like Madhav Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal, and Bamdev Gautam have been playing both ways lending support to Pushpa Kamal Dahal who is feeling emboldened nowadays.

Prachanda clout within the party is launching an attack on Ishwor Pokhrel who in turn is being defended by erstwhile UML leaders and cadres. It is in this context Minister Baskota had spoken about managing the affairs of all the groups and sub-groups existing within the ruling party.

He warned, ”If we do not walk on the main path of our party opting for the path of masses, we shall get finished in our mutual fight in no time.” Like Ishwor Pokharel, Minister Baskota also supports the multi-party democracy over Janabaad.

There is no doubt about the line UML wing is taking within the ruling party. Mani Thapa, ex Maoist leader and member of the standing committee, says that the post to head schooling and training department of the party is the question of honor for both the wings – and whosoever backtracks will become the looser.

The extent to which this controversy has heightened up is clearly visible when NCP secretariat hardly met for an hour and deliberately overlooked the raging controversy to further postpone the next meeting by 15 days. There are other claimants to the post of headmaster of the schooling and training department of NCP making the party a rainbow of ideologies for good or bad.

Leader Bedu Ram Bhusal says, neither Ishwor Pokharel nor Narayan Kaji Shrestha is fit to head the school department. He continues, “I am the best-suited person to be in the post.”

Another leader Ghanshyam Bhusal is also staking his claim to the post. It is unlikely, given the proportion of controversy it has assumed that NCP will take any decision in this matter. Those who have been tracking NCP for long, say that co-chairs will keep this department or will work out together to pass the responsibility of school and training to a third person.

If this is the case, it will hurt Ishwor Pokharel as he has been recently removed from the post of General Secretary of the party. Why did Madhav Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal, and Bamdev Gautam turn against Pokharel on this issue? There is an interesting anecdote behind it.

One of the most shared anecdote

Those were the days when Nepal Communist Party used to be CPN-UML. Jhalanath Khanal used to be the Chairman of the party. He got elected as Prime Minister, after which Bedu Ram Bhusal shouldered the responsibility of School and Training Department.

It was the first instance of owing the responsibility of schooling and training by someone who is not a president of the party. Bhusal is such a man who not only conducted training for spreading and polishing the party ideology but also ran a proper school by formulating a course-curriculum on it.

School and training wing of the party undertook orientation classes on economics and philosophy besides political thought and ideology. Even Bhusal was teaching philosophy to the attendees of the class. This was the time when Bhusal wanted to have land located behind the Balkhu office then for constructing the school out of the treasury of the school and training department.

Ishwor Pokharal was in-charge then to give permission to the construction of this school and he denied that permission. The construction of the school for imparting the political orientation in an organized manner remained on paper only.

Strange is the course of time. Now, Pokharel himself is the claimant to the post to head the school and training department of the party. Looking from outside, it appears a small controversy from outside but it is not so. Within the ruling party, in case the leadership of the schooling and training department goes to Maoists that will be the defeat of the UML political ideology of people’s multiparty democracy.

It is because Pokharel will not only look after the School and Training Department but also the training program of people’s multiparty democracy. And, in the next general meeting, Pokharel will stake his claim to become the party president. This is why Maoists with the support of Madhav Nepal and Bamdev Gautam are targeting Ishwar Pokhrel to sideline him within the party.