Members of the Nepali Congress (NC) continued to express their opinions at the meeting on Thursday. Some leaders of the establishment party have urged the leadership to find a middle ground on whether to postpone or advance the party's general convention elections.

Among the seven former office bearers in the establishment party, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Prakash Man Singh, Bimalendra Nidhi, Shashank Koirala, and Vijay Kumar Gachhadar are not in favor of holding the general convention before Baisakh.

Among the seven former office bearers, Gopal Man Shrestha is currently in India for medical treatment. Prakash Sharan Mahat, the current spokesperson, has been holding a moderate view that if the election is held on 21 Falgun, the general convention should be held on Baisakh and if the election is postponed, on Falgun. A similar proposal was presented by central member NP Saud in Thursday's meeting.

Among the former office bearers, Sitaula has been seen as the most liberal on the issue of holding the general convention. Sitaula, who had planned to contest for the presidency himself with the help of former office bearers before the Gen-G movement, has been accused by the leaders of the establishment party of adopting a strategy of not allowing any kind of general convention to be held before Baisakh, assuming that he can return to power after the Gen-G movement if he can overcome adverse times.

The meeting also accused Sitaula of creating unrest within the party by becoming a member of the National Assembly after losing the election. Central member Amrit Aryal strongly opposed Sitaula, who came to the National Assembly through a 'thief's path' after being defeated in the 2079 House of Representatives election.

The constitution has made a provision that a person who loses an election cannot be a minister during the same term. Preventing a person who loses an election from becoming a minister also means preventing a person who loses an election from becoming an MP. However, Sitaula, who is also the coordinator of the drafting committee of the current constitution, was made a member of the National Assembly.

'Sitaulaji also lost the election in an alliance with the Maoists in the 2079 election. After losing the election, he got an MP in the National Assembly,' said Aryal of the establishment party, 'Now, will you protest that no kind of general convention can be held before the election?' He warned not to consider the issue of a special general convention being demanded by the signatures of 54 percent of the general convention delegates as just a game.

‘If the election is on 21 Falgun, then in Baishakh, if the election is postponed, then let’s hold the general convention in Falgun’

Central member NP Saud has proposed a middle-ground solution to the dispute over whether to hold the general convention before or after the election. Saud has proposed that if the election is confirmed to be held on 21 Falgun, then in Baishakh, and if the House of Representatives election is in Baishakh, then the party general convention should be held in Falgun. Leaders supported by General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma have accused the establishment party of planning to hold the general convention only in Mangsir by bringing the general convention schedule in Baishakh.

‘There is a possibility that the election on 21 Falgun will be postponed to Baishakh. Now, by holding the party’s general convention in Baishakh, it can be understood that the strategy of holding the party’s general convention in Mangsir is being made by showing the election again,’ said a leader close to General Secretary Thapa. However, among the seven former office bearers, spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat also agrees with Saud’s proposal. However, Sitaula and other office bearers are not ready to bring the agenda before Baisakh.

‘Under no circumstances can the general convention be held before the elections. If the general secretaries do not want to go to the elections, a proposal should be brought in the meeting to restore the parliament, if they want to go to the elections, a proposal should be brought to go to the elections. The elections and the general convention cannot go together,’ Sitaula said.

‘We are not prepared and in a position to hold the general convention within the Mangsir deadline. The elections have been scheduled for Falgun 21. Although our party has made a verbal commitment to go to the elections, the central committee has not made a concrete decision to date,’ Saud added. "We should not take the concerns and interference of important and responsible friends who are not members of the party's central committee but who want the general convention to be held on time otherwise." He said that since the leaders in charge of the central working committee have not made the necessary preparations and processes, can the general convention be held before the Falgun elections without transparency and unity?

He said that since the date of the general convention is set after the election, if the Falgun elections are postponed, there is an obligation to postpone the general convention even further, so a solution should be found by looking at the general convention in relation to the election.

"On the one hand, the party central committee should not become a prisoner of indecision, and on the other hand, it should not make hasty decisions and regret them later. We should reach a conclusion through unity, dialogue and consensus," he said.

KC proposed a directly elected prime minister

Congress leader Arjun Narsingh KC has demanded that 25 percent participation of the Gen-G group be ensured, while another member Nainsingh Mahar has proposed 33 percent participation.

KC also proposed that the Nepali Congress should take the initiative to form a high-level judicial commission under the chairmanship of a former Chief Justice to take strict action against notorious corruption, economic crimes and misrule. ‘It is necessary to investigate the assets allegedly illegally kept by Nepalis in foreign banks and take the necessary steps to nationalize the illegal assets,’ he said. ‘This government, which was formed on the foundation of the Gen-G anti-corruption movement, should not make any excuses to launch a strong campaign against corruption on a war footing. Because this is the main mandate of the movement it has received.’

KC has proposed to amend the constitution to provide for a constitutional president and a directly elected prime minister for governance reform. His proposal also includes a proposal to reduce the number of members of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies by 50 percent. He said that an all-party roundtable conference is necessary to amend the constitution. He also demanded that the Nepali Congress take the lead and coordinate for that.

He said that the establishment party’s claim that the general convention cannot be held until mid-Mansir amid extraordinary circumstances is unnatural. "There is an example of us holding the party's 11th general convention in 40 days of preparation, under the direct rule of the king, and at the height of the Maoist armed conflict," KC said. "Let us remember at this time that the opening ceremony was held in the field in front of the zoo in Jawalakhel and the closed sessions were held in the courtyard of the central office (SANEPA) after the then royal government did not provide the venue even though the international conference center was booked," KC said.