The party president Gagan Thapa's faction is angry after former Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba's faction started running parallel activities in the name of the party's central working committee. Thapa will discuss the matter in an informal meeting of party office bearers today.

A meeting of the disciplinary committee has been called for Wednesday. The meeting is to discuss the statement issued by Deuba's faction leader Purna Bahadur Khadka using the party's letterhead on Saturday in his capacity as the 'acting president' and the meeting to be held on Tuesday. The establishment-based leaders have warned that the disciplinary committee may take action based on that discussion.

Khadka had issued a statement on the party's letterhead in his capacity as the acting president in protest against the arrest of UML president and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Congress leader and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. He has also called a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the election review and the arrest of Oli and Lekhak. Khadka has called for the meeting of the Central Working Committee and urged the office bearers and members of his party who were in the then Central Working Committee to attend. The then Chief Secretary Krishna Poudel has called everyone to attend the meeting by telephone. The meeting is said to continue till Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Poudel said that the meeting will discuss the party's defeat in the election and the latest political developments. 'We will also review how the party was defeated in the election,' he said, 'and the political developments that have occurred since then will also be discussed.'

He said that a meeting of district chairmen will also be held soon. Khadka, however, has informed that the meeting of district chairmen will be held on 19 Chaitra.

The Deuba faction has not accepted the Central Working Committee that came from the special general convention. The Central Working Committee that came from the special general convention was recognized by the Election Commission on 4 Magh. In protest, the then President Sher Bahadur Deuba and the then Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka have filed a writ petition in the court. The hearing has been scheduled for Chaitra 22.

Based on these grounds, the Election Commission recognized Gagan Thapa.

Deuba's pro-party leader Jitjung Basnet said that parallel activities will continue between the two parties until the court's decision comes. 'The court should not delay in deciding such a serious matter. It should be decided soon. The court's decision will pave the way for the unity of the Congress,' he said. 'We have not accepted the existence of a special general convention yet, so parallel activities are going on.'

General Secretary Pradeep Poudel said that it is unfortunate that leaders who fought for the rule of law are trying to go against the decisions of constitutional bodies and the laws related to political parties. He said that according to the laws of the state, the decisions given by the constitutional bodies should be accepted even if one does not like them.

'A party is stuck in a system. Political parties must accept the law on party-related issues and the decisions of the state structure. Even if they do not agree, they must accept it. We must respect values ​​and norms and maintain dignity. Our leaders have fought for the rule of law and democracy for a long time,' he said. 'We must also maintain norms to confirm the significance of fighting for democracy. But that is not the case now.'

Khadka had also organized a welcome program for newly elected members of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives at a hotel in the capital on Monday. He had called the lawmakers for a program to provide information on parliamentary practices, as the party establishment had organized last Saturday.

The disciplinary committee, which is closely monitoring all these activities, is discussing within the party about the possibility of taking action against leaders including Khadka. 'If such activities are not stopped, there may be a situation where action will have to be taken,' said an establishment leader. 'It seems that steps such as asking for clarification first and then not renewing membership may be taken.'

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'A leader who says he respects the law cannot challenge the decision of a constitutional body'

Pradeep Poudel, General Secretary, Congress

Are you going to take action against the Sher Bahadur Deuba group after they tried to run parallel activities in the name of the Central Working Committee?

A party is stuck in a method. A political party must respect the law on party-related matters and the decision of the state structure. Even if it is not satisfactory, it must be respected. We must maintain dignity by respecting values ​​and norms. Our leaders have fought for the rule of law and democracy for a long time. We must also maintain norms to confirm the significance of fighting for democracy. But now, one party has not done so. Therefore, I would like to request you to take care of that dignity.

What will you do if your request is not accepted and parallel activities proceed?

When such activities proceed, conflict increases. Going your own way, not getting along, and separating may come to a situation. The formula for party unity now is to hold the regular general convention early. There is no other option. Everyone should be involved in the process of the regular general convention. No one should walk around saying, 'I have twelve percent of my cattle'. This will further weaken the party. We must accept what is determined by the laws and regulations of the state and the decisions made by the constitutional body. Whatever the court decides, everyone will accept it. In the meantime, there is no alternative to going to the regular general convention together.

There is an accusation that you did not communicate with the Deuba-led leaders for unity, right?

It is difficult to reconcile in a situation where the leadership determined by the method is not accepted. The leadership that comes from the special general convention should be accepted. There is no question of not giving space to the party's elders and guardians. The election is over. The general convention evaluates the shortcomings in the election. It also evaluates whether the results were achieved due to the current leadership or not. For that, everyone should prepare for the convention together.