KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress leader Dr Shekhar Koirala is set to attend a national gathering being organised by the party’s faction outside the establishment group.
Koirala’s personal secretary Dinesh Chandra Thapaliya confirmed that the leader will participate in the gathering scheduled to begin on August 14.
“Congress leader Dr Shekhar Koirala will attend the inaugural ceremony of the gathering scheduled for August 14,” Thapaliya said on Tuesday.
Thapaliya clarified that the gathering is not being organised with the intention of splitting the party.
“This is not a gathering aimed at dividing the party,” he said. “Dr Koirala will attend the gathering and call for party unity.”
Former Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba is also scheduled to return to Nepal on Thursday to participate in the gathering.
Deuba, who had been in Hong Kong since March, travelled to Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday.
However, his wife, former foreign minister and Congress leader Dr Arzu Rana Deuba, and their son Jaybir Deuba are not scheduled to return to Nepal.
Deuba had been preparing to return to Nepal on August 11.
The Nepali Congress faction outside the establishment group is organising the national gathering in Kathmandu from August 14 to 16.
The faction has been encouraged by the Supreme Court’s decision to review the dispute concerning the official status of the Nepali Congress.
Following the court’s decision, the faction is preparing to bring senior leaders, including Deuba, together at the national gathering.
The gathering is being coordinated by Nepali Congress leader Dr Shashank Koirala.
However, concerns have emerged among party cadres that the gathering could eventually lead to a formal split within the Nepali Congress.
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