KATHMANDU, Jan 14: Nepali Congress (NC) on Wednesday escalated its internal power struggle by taking disciplinary action against General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma, along with Joint General Secretary Farmullah Mansur, barring them from holding even ordinary party membership for five years.
The decision, confirmed by Central Working Committee (CWC) members close to party President Sher Bahadur Deuba, came amid a deepening rift between the party establishment and leaders backing a Special General Convention, following the collapse of talks aimed at bridging differences within the party. The proponents of the Special General Convention had earlier put forward an eight-point proposal in an attempt to reach a negotiated settlement, but repeated rounds of discussion failed to produce consensus.
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In response, the rival faction at the Special General Convention, currently underway at Bhrikuti Mandap in Kathmandu, rejected the disciplinary action as unauthorized. NC CWC member Ajaya Babu Siwakoti, who is close to Gagan Thapa, said the expelled leaders were targeted in the name of the now-dissolved Central Committee of the NC, a move that undermines efforts to keep the party united.
“On behalf of the second Special General Convention, we urge all delegates, party well-wishers, and democracy-loving citizens to remain united and not be swayed by propaganda driven by extremist thinking or punitive actions,” Siwakoti said. He added that the party leadership approved by the Special General Convention is the official leadership—and will remain so.
With negotiations having broken down, leaders aligned with the Special General Convention are preparing to announce a new working committee, a move likely to deepen the crisis within the country’s largest political party.
