Party Secretary CP Gajurel, a key leader of the rival faction led by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya, even threatened to hold a parallel gathering if the party establishment convened the event unilaterally.[break]
While Spokesman Dinanath Sharma said the chairman scheduled the program as per a party central committee decision taken previously, Gajurel said the central committee never took such a decision.
"There is no barrier to the party chairman convening the orientation program because the party statute mandates him to do so. On top of that, the central committee´s decision to convene the program has been outstanding for months," Sharma told Republica.
Gajurel refuted claims that the party statute had mandated the chairman to convene such a program on his own. He said the party had already ended the practice of the party chairman taking official decisions by himself.
"We have already adopted a system of collective leadership in the party and any official decision should be taken by party general headquarters comprising seven top party leaders," said Gajurel.
He said party cadres close to their faction would not join the orientation program. "There is no point participating in the event because it is not an official decision," he said.
The chairman´s decision has come at a time when the party leadership has failed for a long time to convene its central committee. The central committee meeting has already been deferred thrice and it was postponed again until further notice.
In an attempt of manage dissent within the party, Chairman Dahal called a meeting of the party´s top office bearers on September 30, but he had to conclude it informally after General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa and Secretary Gajurel failed to attend, saying the meeting was called on short notice.
Cadres up to the level of party state committee members will take part in the orientation. Sharma said nearly 5,000 party members are expected to join the event. They are being instructed to gather in the capital on October 15 and attend the orientation next day.
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