KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Central Committee member Arbind Singh has strongly criticised the party leadership during the UML’s 10th Central Committee meeting, raising serious questions about the leadership’s political direction, internal discipline, and moral integrity.
In his statement at the ongoing meeting, Singh expressed dissatisfaction with the party’s recent political document, its handling of corruption allegations, the state of organisational affairs, and leadership style, saying the current approach has failed to reflect ground realities.
Referring to the political report presented on September 7, Singh said it had “collapsed within 24 hours” of being tabled. “How can we move ahead for the next five years with a failed strategy?” he asked, adding that the party’s analyses had “ceased to be objective.”
Singh also criticised the party for providing only a “superficial interpretation” of the Gen Z protests that erupted the following day, on September 8, demanding an impartial and detailed investigation into the incident.
“When the state and government power were both in our hands, we could not escape accusations of state brutality through shallow explanations,” Singh remarked, in what many saw as a veiled critique of the top leadership.
He further alleged that the party’s moral standing has weakened, as more than a dozen leaders accused of corruption and misconduct continue to hold positions within the organisation without facing any institutional action.
Calling for a transfer of leadership, Singh said public anger is no longer directed merely at the UML but is increasingly focused on “the chairperson and those around him.” “The only way to save the party,” he said, “is for the leadership to take responsibility and pave the way for change.”
He also urged the party not to dismiss the ongoing youth and student protests as “reactionary,” describing them instead as a “people’s struggle against misgovernance and corruption.”
Singh criticised the instability within the UML’s student wing (ANNFSU), the tendency of senior leaders to deny Central Committee members a chance to speak, and the past decision to dissolve Parliament, calling these examples of “undemocratic tendencies.”
Concluding his address, Singh also called for former President Bidya Devi Bhandari to have her party membership renewed and to be reactivated in party affairs, arguing that her involvement could help revitalise the UML’s ideological and organisational strength.
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