Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has proposed to bring the schedule for the 15th General Convention by mid-December. General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma have rejected such a proposal, saying that it only brings the schedule but shows an intention not to hold the General Convention. Thapa and Sharma have taken the stand that the Central Working Committee should take the decision for a special General Convention, not a schedule with the intention of not holding the General Convention.

President Deuba, who has been busy in discussions with the office bearers and top leaders of the Central Working Committee since returning from Singapore on Kartik 28, has tried to reach an agreement on the work schedule for the month of Poush through some of his aides.

Deuba had sent a proposal through Treasurer Umesh Shrestha and Central Member Anil Rungta to reach an agreement on the work schedule for Poush 16-19 presented by General Secretary Thapa at the Central Working Committee meeting or another work schedule for the month of Poush. On Wednesday afternoon, Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka had discussed the same proposal with General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma. However, after efforts to reach an agreement on the eve of the meeting failed to yield any results, the meeting scheduled for Thursday has become uncertain.

Central Member Pratima, who is close to General Secretary Thapa, said that the proposed work schedule, which was subject to various conditions, does not intend to hold a general convention. ‘There is no way to reach an agreement on the agenda that will be brought with various conditions that will make it impossible to hold the general convention in the beginning. Two months have passed since the regular general convention. Now, since it is no longer possible to hold the regular general convention before the election, the general secretaries are of the opinion that a special general convention should be called,’ Gautam said. ‘The option has also been presented that it would be better if the central working committee itself called the special general convention.’

The agenda, which will be presented by mid-December, was brought with conditions such as the withdrawal of the application signed by 54 percent of the delegates for the special general convention, the coordinator and majority of the members of the election committee and the committee to investigate active membership should be from the establishment side, and other members should be added to the active membership distribution committee.

As soon as it was learned that the proposal with conditions had been received from the establishment side, the leaders and activists in favor of the special general convention rejected it through an emergency press conference. They said that there was no option for a special general convention due to the pressure of time.

Koirala and Thapa agreed to go together to the special general convention.

They have urged the Central Working Committee meeting not to be indefinitely postponed on the issue of whether to hold the general convention within the time specified by the constitution. Youth leader Gururaj Ghimire questioned the qualifications of the office bearers and members of the Central Working Committee due to this indecision.

‘The democratic process has been disrupted. The constitution is in a coma. At this time, due to the delay in analyzing the situation of the country and deciding the role of the party, the leaders currently in the Central Working Committee cannot be proven qualified. It has become clear that the 15th general convention cannot be held now,” Ghimire said, “There is no other option than to call a special general convention by addressing the demands raised by 54 percent of the friends.”

He said that the establishment party was trying to make a show of it by bringing a schedule with a date in the month of Poush in the name of the special general convention. “We do not agree with the schedule that will not hold the general convention. It is not acceptable. We need the general convention. It is fine if you come with the basis to hold the general convention within the specified time, otherwise we will have to go to the special general convention,” he said, “We do not need the schedule to see and read. We have found a way to take the message that the Congress has been corrected among the common people by changing its policy and leadership before the election.”

The dispute over whether to hold the general convention within the four-year term stipulated by the constitution has been a prisoner of indecision for two months. The Congress has not yet decided whether to go for the election or not. All the party's activities are at a standstill. The party has become a prisoner of indecision, especially due to former office bearers and some leaders of the establishment party who cannot accept the changes shown by the Gen-G movement.

Even though the Central Working Committee meeting that began on Asoj 28 ended on Kartik 27, the Congress has not been able to take any decision due to the dispute over the general convention. Acting President Khadka has been postponing the meeting in an attempt to make the party's decision unanimous rather than by majority or minority.

Since then, the meeting of the central members of the establishment party held on Wednesday at the initiative of former office bearers has decided to maintain the previous stance. According to Bimalendra Nidhi, a leader among the former office bearers, the meeting has said that the first decision should be to 'go for the election'. He said that he had then concluded that any general convention of the party could be held only in the upcoming Baisakh, not before the elections.

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'First of all, the central working committee meeting should decide to participate in the elections. Then, instructions should be given to the subordinate bodies for the elections,' Nidhi said, 'After that, the 15th general convention should be held in Baisakh. It is our decision that if it is held in Baisakh, it can be held around the date presented by Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav.'

Countering the schedule presented by General Secretary Thapa, Yadav had presented the schedule for the regular general convention on Baisakh 27-29. The establishment-oriented leaders, who are in favor of not holding the general convention before the elections, have even put forward a proposal to decide by 'voting' on the basis of majority-minority votes if there is no agreement.

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‘The Central Working Committee should not be kept in a state of indecision for months like this. Even if it is by voting, a solution should be given. Time is also short for the election now. In the meantime, a closed list will have to be given. Preparations for the National Assembly election should be made. That is why we should not get involved in the general convention now,’ Nidhi added, ‘When the general convention is held, mutual disputes and conflicts will damage the election.’

He claimed that the agenda of the special general convention has not been included in the Central Working Committee. The establishment party argues that it is not possible before the election as the signatures have to be verified and identified to go to the special general convention. ‘Since the policy and leadership change from the special general convention will take place from the 15th general convention of the party, we have appealed to all the friends who signed the proposal for the special general convention to withdraw from this demand,’ Nidhi said.

He claimed that his group includes not only seven former office bearers but also 70/80 office bearers and members of the establishment party. Meanwhile, leader Shekhar Koirala also said that he is positive about the proposal of the general secretaries. He is of the opinion that since the regular general convention will not be held in time, a special general convention should be held.