The appointments supposed to be made within two months of the general convention as per the party statute were delayed due to prolonged differences between the establishment faction and the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led faction. [break]The NC held its 12th General Convention in Kathmandu in September, 2010.
According to a press statement issued on Saturday, party President Sushil Koirala has appointed Dilendra Prasad Badu as the party´s spokesperson and Baburam Rana of Rupandehi as a Central Working Committee (CWC) member.
Koirala is yet to form a few other important committees that are considered very important, including Parliamentary Board, Work Execution Committee, Disciplinary Committee and Election Committee. Likewise, four other CWC members and the party´s joint general secretary are also due to be appointed.
The Deuba-led faction has expressed reservations over the appointments, saying they were not consulted. "We had expected that we would be consulted before making the appointments. Internal unity and cooperation in the party would have been further strengthened had the decisions been taken in consultation with Sher Bahadur Deuba," said Bimalendra Nidhi, a senior leader close to Deuba.
Of the 42 chiefs appointed, Koirala has picked 13 who are close to Deuba and four close to Khum Bahadur Khadka. Likewise, six of the 14 zonal coordinators appointed are from the Deuba faction.
According to the press statement, Koirala has formed two separate Central Direction Committees with four members each and led by General Secretaries Prakash Man Singh and Krishna Prasad Sitaula respectively to help conduct the general conventions of various sister organizations of the party.
While the committee led by Singh is entrusted with providing support to the ad hoc committees of Nepal Students Union, Nepal Aaadibasi Janajati Sangh, Nepal Peasants Association and Nepal National Magar Association to hold their conventions, the other committee, led by Sitaula, is entrusted with facilitating the conventions of Nepal Tarun Dal, Nepal Women´s Association and Nepal Democratic Fighters´ Association.
Likewise, Koirala has also appointed coordinators for the party´s Zonal Coordination Committees for all 14 zones. Those appointed zonal coordinators include Mahendra Yadav (Mechi), Padma Narayan Chaudhary (Koshi), Keshab Kumar Budhathoki (Sagarmatha), Ram Kumar Chaudhary (Janakpur), Ratna Sherchan (Bagmati), Ram Chandra Tiwari (Narayani) and Krishna Chandra Nepali (Gandaki).
Koirala has proposed to form an additional 12 departments in the party with a view to expanding the work areas of the party´s Central Departments and making the party organization more dynamic. With the addition of the new departments, subject to the approval of the party´s CWC, the NC will have a total of 42 departments.
The proposed new departments in the party include Muslim, Tarai-Madhes, Literature, Art and Culture, Peace, Security and Service, Kathmandu Liaison Committee Coordination,Tourism, Federal Affairs, Science and Technology, Forest and Environment, Irrigation and Infrastructure Development, Financial Institutions Coordination and Construction Entrepreneurs Coordination Departments.
Koirala has appointed coordinators for the departments including Minendra Rijal for the Publicity Department, Sujata Koirala for International Relations Department, Shekhar Koirala for Professionals and Intellectuals Department, Nabindra Raj Joshi for Students Department, Chandra Bhandari for Education Department, Gagan Kumar Thapa for Federal Affairs Department and Pharmullah Mansur for Muslim Department, according to the statement.
Also, among those appointed coordinators of various departments in the party are Purna Bahadur Khadka (Parliamentary), Uma Kanta Chaudhary (Tarai-Madhes), Manmohan Bhattarai (Literature, Arts and Culture), Bhisma Raj Angdangwe (Aaadibasi Janajati), Badri Pandey (Labor), Jiwan Pariyar (Dalit), Dhan Raj Gurung (Sports) and Mina Pandey (Women).
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