A Congress General Committee that is not connected to the people

Being the current power partner along with the big party, it is natural that not only the workers, but also the common people are equally interested in the Congress General Committee . On top of that, not only the country's declining economy, but also the problems of corruption and irregularity, unemployment, inflation, youth migration, 'brain drain' and the common people who are fed up with the middleman rule in the country, the Congress through the General Committee members have made an important and historic move to listen to the people and provide relief. Expected to make a decision .

In addition, Congress workers hoped that the general committee would seriously review the shortcomings of the leadership in the past and discuss the agenda and plan for the coming days. But ironically, the suffering of the common people and the grievances of the lower level workers of the party have not been opened and the General Committee has become a mess. To say more, the meeting has ended without even saying a word about the topics and issues that should have heated up the hall of the General Committee .

In the 14th session of the Congress, the new leadership was also elected after passing the legislation. But the convention was focused only on the election campaign and the policy proposal could not be discussed. That's why the Congress held a general committee meeting in accordance with the legal provisions that can do all the functions of the convention except for the policy session and leadership selection. Congressmen viewed the meeting with importance as they expected to make a new policy for the future direction of the party. However, the General Committee meeting was focused on electoral alliance issues rather than immediate issues.

It was widely expected that the general committee would discuss measures to improve the declining economy of the country, the country's foreign policy, natural resource utilization policy, provincial structure, infrastructure, proportional election system, youth employment situation, education, health, meter interest and problems of microfinance victims. ; But the General Committee was not only silent in favor of good governance and against corruption, it also failed to discuss and take decisions on contemporary issues. The general committee did not enter into the debate about the problems faced by the people day by day and did not care about the expectations of the people.

On the contrary, the General Committee, which was discussed as a 'Policy Convention', remained a place to show off who is closer to the top leaders and to 'stun'. It was expected that General Minister Gagan Thapa and Vishwaprakash Sharma, who were expected in the politics of the entire country, would focus on people's issues in the Mahasamithi . However, it seemed that the expected general ministers were trying to concentrate on how to gather bribes and become popular within the party .

The most interesting and discussed topic in the general committee meeting was the issue of alliance/not in the 084 elections. According to the constitution, the Congress should have a central convention every 4 years. According to that, the central convention will be held within November 2082 . In case of an extraordinary situation, the central working committee has the right to extend the tenure for a maximum of one year . Even then, the Congress will not be able to hold a convention within November 083. But it is very disappointing that the general committee ends on the issue of alliance/not in the elections to be held in 084 after about a year of the convention.

This meeting of the Congress should have taken a decision to give the country the right direction, it should have answered the questions raised by every Nepalese. However, the leader's management and agenda got messed up. For political parties, the people are the most important thing and it should be the same. But in this General Committee meeting, the leaders focused on the fight of gambling and should take a concrete decision on the issue of the same people.

In the 7 months of the current financial year, more than 400,000 young people have left for employment. In the last fiscal year, nearly 8 lakh youths left the country . This graph is sure to increase in this financial year. No one spoke in the meeting about how to create jobs within the country to prevent young people from migrating abroad. There is an economic recession in the country, both import and export are decreasing. The cases of meterbad victims have been going on for years. The delay in construction cannot be tolerated . The fraud business has increased greatly, the number of young people forced to die by joining the Russian army has increased. The earthquake victims of Jajarkot and Rukum West are forced to die in the cold because they have not received the subsidy announced by the government.

In the recently concluded National Assembly elections, the subjects rejected by the people, the leaders who repeatedly took advantage of the position and succeeded in achieving leadership were rewarded, the achievements and weaknesses of the 9 ministers held by the Congress, the working style of the Congress leadership in four out of the seven provinces, the decisions and achievements of the local people's representatives in the General Committee, and sufficient debate in the General Committee. And it was necessary to have a discussion.

Bashtrachar has become like the 'national pride' of the country. According to the 'Corruption Perception Index-2023' report released by Transparency International, an international non-governmental organization working in the field of corruption control and good governance, Nepal is in the list of countries with high corruption. In a survey conducted in 180 countries, Nepal is ranked 108th in the list of low corruption and good governance.

The General Committee remained silent on many scandals such as the big corruption and irregularities in the country, Lalita residence land case, Bhutanese refugee case, Terramax purchase case, Melamchi water supply project. Also, when the news and reports that some of the top leaders of the Congress are connected to various corruption cases are published, is there a debate about clear policies and actions? Why is the general committee silent on the issue of what action the party will take against its leaders involved in corruption? The number of people who lost their lives due to vehicle accidents has increased significantly in recent days. Who will talk about the bad condition of the roads, the sufferings of the people due to rains and natural disasters, the common problems of the farmers, the terror prevalent in the villages?

There is no option for a political party to always be accountable to the country and the people. It is necessary to consider every problem of the people as one's own. The role of workers is important to connect the people with the leadership and to raise the issues of the people. Besides that, it is necessary for the leadership of the party to listen to the workers at the lower level and to be honest about the issues of the grassroots. This general committee of the Congress could not take a concrete decision on any matter, let alone discuss it . Amid the disillusionment and frustration with the old political parties, it is too late to focus on what to do to connect with the people, but there is still time. Let us hope that the Congress leadership will find the right path before the historic party becomes the party of history.

The writer is a member of Nepali Congress Information, Communication and Publicity Department.