KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress leader Shekhar Koirala has alleged that authoritarian tendencies are emerging within the party, which he said was founded to establish democracy and end authoritarian rule.
Addressing a Koshi Province-level gathering in Biratnagar on Sunday, Koirala said democracy is currently in one of its weakest historical phases and argued that the policy of national unity and reconciliation introduced by BP Koirala in 1976 (2033 BS) has become even more relevant today.
He said there is no alternative for the Nepali Congress but to move forward based on BP Koirala’s principles of national unity and reconciliation.
“To strengthen Nepal’s nationalism, sovereignty, territorial integrity and democracy, cooperation and unity among all political forces are necessary,” Koirala said.
Referring to discussions with party President Gagan Kumar Thapa, Koirala claimed that Thapa had agreed to five points he had proposed and questioned what was preventing a broader agreement.
Koirala further alleged that after Thapa visited the Koirala residence and warned party members of disciplinary action, he felt compelled to make his five-point proposal public.
Stressing that the party cannot move forward without consensus, he said the Nepali Congress should follow the principle often promoted by former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, consensus, cooperation and unity, beginning within the party itself.
Koirala also expressed commitment that under no circumstances would he allow the party to split.
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