Nain Singh Mahar criticizes political mechanism, calls for democratic process in party

PHIDIM: Nepali Congress Central Committee Member and Head of the Party’s Education Department, Nain Singh Mahar, has criticized the growing trend of sidelining constitutional and organizational mechanisms in Nepal’s political landscape.

Speaking at a party workers’ gathering and calendar launch organized by Nepali Congress Panchthar, Mahar questioned both the relevance of current political mechanisms and the internal functioning of the party.

Mahar said although Nepal’s Constitution does not recognize informal political mechanisms, such arrangements have increasingly influenced governance, often without effectiveness.

“These mechanisms were formed through political consensus, which is acceptable. But they have failed to deliver on their responsibilities,” he said.

He also claimed that the mechanism currently in place has failed to uphold the influence and authority of the largest ruling party, the Nepali Congress.

“Although Congress does not have a clear majority, it is compelled to enter into alliances to ensure political stability. But the existing mechanism does not seem to understand this essence or respect the Congress’s mandate,” he added.

Mahar further criticized the internal functioning of the party, particularly the repeated reliance on office-bearers’ meetings instead of formal party committees.

He pointed out that the party’s Central Committee has not met in almost a year, and decisions made by office-bearers’ meetings lack constitutional recognition in the party’s charter.

“It is unfortunate that the Central Committee’s rights are being undermined by unofficial meetings whose decisions are being publicized. This is not a healthy sign for a democratic system,” Mahar said. “In a democratic party, decisions must be made through democratic processes—namely, through the Central Committee and Executive Committee meetings.”

He accused the leadership of using the office-bearers’ meetings to manipulate the lead-up to the party’s 15th General Convention.

“When assigned responsibilities are not being fulfilled and the party is run through unofficial meetings, it risks derailing the convention,” he said.

Calling on grassroots members to take action, Mahar urged all 888,000 active party members to begin fulfilling their responsibilities from the local level upward and to exert pressure on central leadership to return to democratic norms.

“Only then can the party and the nation move forward,” he said.