The party chairman made the announcement upon the conclusion of the party´s two-day national conclave on Tuesday.[break]
"We can´t go for the idea of naming provinces after neutral identities alone nor can we accept the proposal to delineate separate provinces on the basis of the single identities of some specific ethnic communities," a participant quoted Khanal as saying.
Addressing the gathering, the party´s other two top leaders, Madhav Kumar Nepal and KP Sharma Oli, also underscored the possible consequences that may arise from adoption of solely ethnicity-based federalism.
According to participants, the leaders urged the dissident leaders, who have been pressing the party to accept a single identity-based federal system, to seek a solution from within the party instead of boycotting party meetings.
The gathering concluded after collecting the party representatives´ suggestions on state restructuring, resolution of the present political crisis and the party´s future course in the changed context.
Leaders participating in the gathering said most of the representatives suggested to the party leadership to adopt a federal model based on multi-ethnic identity and not to go for a single ethnic identity-based model as demanded by a group of dissident leaders within the party.
"We have suggested to the leaders to stand for multi ethnic-identity because our society is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious and we need to respect this diversity while delineating provinces in a federal setup," party politburo member Thammaya Thapa Magar told Republica.
Around 500 representatives from across the country gathered in Kathmandu to discuss the issues. They were divided into six groups for holding group discussions. According to her, other groups also offered similar suggestions and each group emphasized the need for the co-existence of ethnic and sectarian diversity while delineating provinces. "On number of provinces, the representatives have suggested not to exceed seven or eight," said Magar.
Similarly, the group from the mid-west development region categorically turned down the proposal for delineating provinces based on the identity of a specific ethnic community.
On a way out of the present political crisis, the group said the president should call on the political parties to form an all-party government. "Then the disputed issues in constitution writing should be decided by a referendum. Election for a new parliament and a referendum should be held simultaneously," said Surya Thapa, who led the group from the mid-west development region. It has suggested that the party not advocate the reinstatement of the recently-dissolved Constituent Assembly (CA).
Dissident group awaits CC decision
A group of dissident leaders including Vice-chairman Ashok Rai and Prithivi Subba Gurung, Ram Chandra Jha, Bijay Subba and Rajendra Shrestha boycotted the two-day event.
Shrestha said they did not attend the conclave as the party leaders didn´t allow them to table the group´s separate report.
"We will now decide our next move after studying the decision of the forthcoming central committee meeting," he said. "We may remain in the party if the leadership addresses our nine-point demand. Otherwise, we may have to establish a new force."
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