KATHMANDU, Aug 31: A meeting of the office bearers and former office bearers of the Nepali Congress (NC) on Saturday reached a consensus on passing the report of general secretaries duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma by the Central Working Committee (CWC) with amendments.
NC Spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat informed Republica that the meeting held at party president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha on Sunday reached an agreement on matters that could not be resolved earlier.
“The meeting was held specifically to discuss the exit policies and whether to form alliances, as outlined in the reports of the general secretaries,” Mahat said, “It has been agreed that the exit policies will not be implemented immediately and no decision will be made regarding alliances at this time.”
Spokesperson Mahat also informed that the meeting agreed to conduct the upcoming 15th convention of NC within the timeframe as per the party’s statute. “All these issues will be discussed and passed in the CWC meeting scheduled for Sunday. A draft, including amendments agreed upon in the reports by general secretaries Thapa and Sharma, will be prepared,” he said, “It has also been agreed that there will be another meeting before the CWC meeting on Sunday,” Spokesperson Mahat added, “It has also been agreed to hold a meeting before CWC meeting to discuss on these matters.”
Earlier, the NC had postponed its CWC meeting scheduled for August 28 to Sunday, citing the need for further discussions to reach a consensus on certain issues in the organizational proposal put forth by General Secretary Thapa and the contemporary political proposal presented by General Secretary Sharma.
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During the Mahasamiti meeting of the NC held in February, General Secretary Sharma had proposed an ‘exit policy’ for senior leaders, recommending one term for president, two terms for prime minister, three terms for ministers, and four terms for members of parliament. Similarly, another general secretary, Thapa, proposed that the NC should not forge alliances with any political parties and should participate in the 2027 election on its strength.
At that time, the Mahasamiti meeting endorsed their proposals and forwarded them to the CWC for further discussion and final decision. The NC CWC meeting was initially called for August 7.
As soon as discussion over the reports started, members were divided into two factions. Leaders close to President Deuba opposed Sharma’s ‘exit policy’ and Thapa’s proposal to avoid forging alliances during the election.
“Deuba felt insecure with their proposals since he wants to become prime minister for more terms,” a leader opposed to the party establishment faction told Republica.
The reports of the general secretaries sparked heated debate within the party. President Deuba tried hard to convince them, but it did not succeed. Following firm stances from both sides, the CWC meeting was adjourned on August 12 after six days of discussions starting from August 7. Deuba continued his attempts to settle the disputes through talks.
On August 27, NC President Deuba summoned the NC vice president and general secretaries to his Budhanilkantha residence to reach an agreement on the reports presented by the general secretaries. However, that meeting did not conclude as the general secretaries did not back down from their stances.
Just a day before Deuba’s call, Shekhar Koirala, opposing the party establishment factions, also held a separate discussion with close leaders amid the party’s ongoing CWC meeting. Koirala met with his allies at the Bishalnagar-based liaison office. During the meeting, some CWC members expressed dissatisfaction against Koirala and criticized him for not strongly addressing the fact that Party President Deuba had not been running the party according to its rules and regulations. It is reported that this meeting also played a significant role and suggested the general secretaries not step back from their stances.
General Secretary Sharma reiterated his opinion that the practice of someone becoming PM multiple times should be abolished. Speaking at an event in Kathmandu on Saturday, Sharma repeated his previous stance.
“With the same faces continually becoming the PM, citizens are now wondering when fresh leadership will come?” Sharma said, “Therefore, I have put forward a policy proposal. When any political party nominates someone as president, they should only be allowed to serve one term. After that, they should leave Shital Niwas (the presidential residence) in a calm manner.”
Sharma also stated that the practice of hearing about the same person becoming PM multiple times must come to an end. He said, “When someone becomes PM, you hear people saying, ‘He became PM four times, five times, six times. This kind of situation needs to end in our generation."
Sharma argued that the system should limit anyone from becoming PM more than twice, no matter how popular a person is. However, sources indicate that it is almost certain that the CWC will not approve Sharma’s proposal in its meeting on Sunday. Nonetheless, there is an agreement among leaders within the NC to discuss this proposal at an appropriate time.
However, the ongoing debate within the NC over implementing the proposal of the general secretaries duo has been settled for the time being. The NC CWC meeting has been scheduled for Sunday at 2 PM and is expected to resolve all disagreements between the party president and the general secretaries duo.
