The faction will initiate the process to table a no-confidence motion against incumbent PP leader Ram Chandra Paudel if Koirala refuses to change the PP leader, leaders close to Deuba said Tuesday.[break]
"Our leader has formally conveyed the demand to Koirala during his recent meeting yesterday [Monday]," a leader belonging to Deuba faction said. Leaders present during Monday´s meeting told Republica that NC President Koirala gave neither positive nor negative response to the demand. "So, we have not option but to wait for a few more days until Koirala gives his official response to our demand."
The Deuba faction claimed that there had been an informal agreement to make Deuba the parliamentary party leader in exchange for the faction´s support to Koirala´s picking Ram Chandra Paudel as vice-president and Krishna Prasad Sitaula as general secretary.
The Deuba faction after a meeting on Sunday with senior NC leadr K B Gurung on Sunday decided to bring a no-confidence motion if Paudel refused to step down in consensus. Party insiders say Gurung and his aides command the support of at least 12 PP members which would be enough to ensure majority for Deuba.
NC has a total 114 PP members. Leaders close to Deuba believe with the support of K B Gurung and his aides and a few disgruntled leaders of the establishment faction, including Arjun Narsingh KC, they can easily garner 58 votes, a majority sufficient to change the PP leader.
Paudel was elected PP leader through a voting held in June, 2009, in which he secured 61 votes, with Deuba trailing behind by 13 votes. Leaders close to Deuba believe that Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, who had supported Paudel in the last PP election, will choose to stay neutral if they decide to go for voting this time.
Wrong time for dispute: Paudel
Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party (PP) Leader Ram Chandra Paudel on Tuesday has accused party leaders of inciting unnecessary disputes regarding change of parliamentary party leader at a time when party cadres are heading for unification.
He also stressed that the party leaders should instead work unitedly for promulgation of new constitution and taking peace process to a logical end. Speaking to reporters after a meeting among NC President Sushil Koirala, General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula with UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal at Koirala´s residence, Paudel said, "This kind of pointless issue may hinder the party unification process."
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