The internal dispute within the Nepali Congress has reached a peak again after the establishment party took a stand not to hold any general convention before the February 21 election. After the establishment party tried to postpone the general convention by amending the agenda, general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma have engaged in consultations for a special general convention.

The leaders in favor of the special general convention are going to gather in Kathmandu on 19 Poush in consultation with the general secretaries. If the central working committee is not ready to hold the general convention even after that, general secretary Thapa himself has started preparations to call a special general convention. He has also started discussions about the legal validity and possible consequences of calling a special general convention.

The leaders in favor of the special general convention discussed this with lawyers close to the Congress on Saturday. Legal practitioners have suggested that if the central working committee does not call it, then even if the general secretary calls it, it will be valid, said Baldev Timilsina, a leader in favor of the special general convention. They have also submitted a letter to the party president on Friday through general secretaries Thapa and Sharma regarding the call for a special general convention.

Advocates Dinesh Tripathi, Yadu Khanal, RC Bimal and Jhala BK participated in the legal consultation. Advocate Khanal said that if 40 percent of the general convention delegates submit a petition with their signatures, there is a compelling situation to call a special general convention. However, he argued that if the central working committee itself does not call it, then even if the general secretary calls it, it will be legal. ‘Article 17 (2) of the Congress statute states that the center will call a special general convention.’ Article 3 (12) of the statute states that the center also refers to the central working committee and the central office of the party. Since the central office of the party is led by the general secretary, a special general convention can be called by them,’ Khanal said.

Another advocate Tripathi said that if a special general convention is demanded, it should be called within 3 months and if it is not called, the central working committee itself will be punishable. They suggested that the issue that the central committee has decided to change when the special general convention is demanded with the signature of the majority of the delegates should even go to court to make it a legal question. Based on the same suggestion, the leaders in favor of the general convention are also preparing to go to court.

If it is called through a different route than the Central Working Committee, it will not be a special general convention, which could lead to a party split: Shekhar Koirala, leader, Congress Congress leader Shekhar Koirala said that a gathering called from outside the Central Working Committee could lead to a party split, saying that he was not in favor of such a gathering. 'The gathering risks leading to a party split, I am not in favor of it,' Koirala said, 'The right to call a special general convention is the reserved right of the general convention delegates, even if 40 percent of the delegates sign a demand, the job of calling it is the Central Working Committee, if the Central Working Committee does not call it and it is called through another route, it will not be a special general convention, but a gathering.' He said that he was in favor of holding the convention before the elections after completing the work of the active membership.

Article 17 (2) of the statute makes it mandatory to call a special general convention within three months if 40 percent of the general convention delegates submit a petition with their signatures explaining the specific reason. However, the statute is not clear about who will call it and what the procedure will be. 2,488 general convention delegates of the party (54.58 percent of the total) have already registered a petition on 29 Asoj demanding a special general convention. The deadline for calling the special general convention is 28 Poush.

Everyone knows that the general convention cannot be held before the election, and despite knowing this, a dispute has been stirred up: Prakash Sharan Mahat, Spokesperson, Congress Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said that discussions on proportional candidates have started from Saturday to further discuss the general convention after the active membership is finalized. ‘Everyone knows that the general convention cannot be held before the election, and despite knowing this, controversy has been stirred up. Active membership has not come from the districts. Only the acting presidents and general secretaries are at work,’ he said.

The central general convention can still be held on the specified date after holding ward and regional conventions, but the leadership does not seem interested: Pradeep Poudel, leader, Congress Central member Pradeep Poudel accused President Deuba and acting president Khadka of only passing the time to prevent the general convention from being held before the election. ‘Even now, the central general convention can be held on the specified date by holding ward and regional conventions, but the president and acting president did not seem interested, this will cause a terrible problem,’ Poudel said, ‘It was seen that they did not want to hold the convention with the intention of keeping the Congress in their possession no matter how much.’ He said that it was natural to use the right of a special general convention granted by the statute. ‘It seems that the leadership itself is trying to invite this situation. If there is a situation where the party splits, it will be because of the leadership,’ he said.

When the establishment side tried to decide to postpone the general convention under the guise of a majority, the general secretaries Thapa and Sharma were not only angry, but they have reached the point of not contesting the election. General Secretary Sharma had announced his decision not to contest the upcoming election in the meeting of the Central Working Committee. After that, Thapa announced that he would not be a candidate if the election was held with the current leadership.

In the Central Working Committee meeting that has been going on for four days in Sanepa, General Secretary Thapa had informed about the possible consequences of not holding a regular general convention before the elections. He also expressed his anger by saying that President Sher Bahadur Deuba was exercising all the power himself by giving Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka a nominal acting chairman. President Deuba has a majority in both the Central Working Committee and the Working Committee.

General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma had earlier proposed holding a central general convention directly as the last alternative to the regular general convention by holding ward and area conventions. However, since the establishment party was not ready for that, the general secretaries are preparing to call a special general convention. Earlier too, the Central Working Committee meeting was prolonged for one and a half months due to the dispute over the general convention. President Deuba himself intervened when Acting President Khadka could not find a way out.

Deuba had agreed on the regular general convention schedule to stop the special general convention. According to that agreement, the ward convention was scheduled to start from 16 Poush and the central general convention from 26-29 Poush. It has now been confirmed that this schedule, which was brought on 15 Mangesh, will not be implemented.

Now the Congress should not go to the election without holding a convention and electing a new leadership. Only the new leadership can conduct the election: Gagan Thapa, General Secretary, Congress ‘Now the Congress should not go to the election without holding a convention and electing a new leadership. Only the new leadership can conduct the election,’ General Secretary Thapa said, ‘If we do not hold the central convention directly after holding the ward and regional conventions, no one is above the party’s statute. No one has the facility to disobey the statute. The special provision made in Article 17 (2) of the statute makes a special general convention mandatory. This is not an optional matter.'