KANCHANPUR: Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak has warned that the party could not be prevented from splitting if the process for its general convention is not halted immediately.
Speaking to party workers during a meeting in the Dodhara-Chandani area of Kanchanpur, Lekhak said his faction was still making every possible effort with maximum flexibility to preserve party unity.
He claimed the current dispute arose after the special general convention removed the working committee elected by the 14th General Convention. He said the dispute should be resolved by bringing together the working committees formed through the special general convention and the 14th General Convention.
Lekhak clarified that his faction was not demanding the removal of party president Gagan Thapa. Instead, he said they had proposed including in the Central Working Committee leaders who were part of the 14th General Convention but were not included in the special general convention.
He said they had also proposed that if President Thapa was concerned that adding members would leave him in a minority, he could nominate additional members from his own faction to retain a majority.
According to Lekhak, his faction had proposed that Thapa be allowed to appoint coordinators and retain a majority in the Election Committee, Active Membership Investigation Committee and Disciplinary Committee, while also including one representative from each of the other factions.
“We have been trying to unite the party while recognising Gagan-ji as the party president, but we have not been able to reach an agreement,” he said.
Lekhak said his faction had been making continuous efforts to reunify the party for around 11 months and maintained that there was still a possibility of resolving the dispute.
“There is still a solution. Let us each stop the general convention process from our respective sides. If the general convention is not halted, the party will split,” he said.
Lekhak also said the party should wait for the court’s decision before moving ahead. He argued that since the main case concerning the party’s official status is still sub judice, a single court ruling in favour of one side should not be treated as a complete resolution of the dispute.
He warned that if the party splits, those who initiated the general convention process would have to take responsibility. He said he was urging all sides to halt the convention process as a final effort to prevent the Nepali Congress from splitting.
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