Khadka has also responded that he will not move forward with the proposal without consensus. In a discussion held between some leaders of the establishment and the General Secretary on Saturday, Khadka had informed that he would not move forward with the proposal without consensus.
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Seven former office bearers of the Nepali Congress establishment party have planned to reject the agenda of the 15th General Convention presented by General Secretary Gagan Thapa and pass Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav's proposal.
For that, a central member of the establishment party said that they are constantly pressuring them to take the proposals of both Thapa and Yadav to a 'voting'.
In the meeting of the Central Working Committee on Kartik 18, General Secretary Thapa presented the agenda for Poush 16-19 and Joint General Secretary Yadav presented the agenda for Baisakh 27-29. Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka informed that both the agendas were presented individually due to disagreements.
A meeting held in Baneshwor on Saturday at the initiative of seven former office bearers concluded that a solution to the general convention dispute should be sought through 'voting'. Their decision was to reject the proposed schedule before the election from the Central Working Committee, which has a majority of the establishment party, and get Yadav's proposal passed. Also, the plan was to move forward by deciding that the special general convention, which was demanded with the signatures of 54 percent of the general convention delegates, was not necessary. They are increasing pressure on Khadka to move forward with the proposal as per that decision.
Khadka has also given them the answer that he will not move forward with the proposal without consensus. In a discussion held between some leaders and general secretaries of the organization on Saturday, Khadka had informed them that he would not move forward with the proposal without consensus.
‘If I am going to move forward with the proposal to hold a general convention in Baisakh, I should also move forward with a proposal to hold a special general convention.’ Khadka replied to the request of the seven former office bearers, ‘If you pressure me to move forward with a controversial proposal unilaterally, I will be forced to take any unpleasant decision.’
Khadka has been postponing the meeting of the Central Working Committee, saying that he will not move forward with the decision to be made by the Congress on the basis of majority and minority. The meeting scheduled for Monday has been postponed to Thursday.
25 central members within the establishment party have come out in protest against the line taken by the seven former office bearers. They have already drawn the attention of acting president Khadka in writing, saying that the general convention should be held before the election.
According to sources, president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who returned from Singapore on Friday, has started talks to resolve the dispute since Sunday, but there is no sign of a solution yet. According to a leader close to him, Deuba is in favor of holding the regular general convention before the election to avoid the special general convention.
Since changing the leadership from the special general convention will send a message that the president has been removed, he has made up his mind to retire from active politics from the regular general convention. However, as the seven former office bearers continue to increase pressure to not bring the agenda by mid-December, Deuba has not yet indicated where he stands on this issue.
Deuba is also busy with meetings on Monday. He is also meeting separately with leaders of the establishment party. General secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma, who have been raising the issue of a general convention since the Genji movement, are now standing in favor of a special general convention. Thapa and Sharma, who have wasted two months in a dispute over whether to hold a general convention before the election, have started to insist on holding a special general convention. Sharma had discussed the matter with President Deuba on Sunday. Sharma had also informed him that he would resign as general secretary if a special general convention was not called.
Since the Genji movement and the Congress general convention controversy, it has not been present on any issue of national politics. Not only within the party, but also civil society leaders and analysts have started criticizing the Congress's tendency.
Former Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission Bhojraj Pokharel has said that the common people will not trust a party that wastes time for months by not holding the general convention as per the statute. 'How can the people trust a party and its leaders who waste time for months by arguing whether to hold the general convention on the date specified by the statute when it has to transform into a state of emergency and go among the people,' Pokharel said on social media, 'This is what it must have been said. Those who fight from the cliff can be said to be good bye, but they cannot be supported.'
Another former administrator, Krishna Gyawali, has questioned how a leadership that refuses to hold a convention as per the constitution can be called democratic. ‘Is a leadership that refuses to hold a convention, whether regular or special, as per the constitution, even democratic? That too in the changed perspective after such an incident,’ he wrote, ‘Those who do not choose the path of honorable retirement even when it is 54 percent, history will take responsibility, let alone the party’s worries.’
