KATHMANDU, March 8: Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the two parties led by Panchayat era leaders, have officially started attempts for unification.
RPP, led by Pashupati SJB Rana, formed a four-member committee on Sunday to hold informal dialogues with RPP-N for the unification process. The RPP-N had already formed a five-member dialogue committee headed by party's Co-chair Kishar Bahadur Bista for the purpose.
According to RPP Deputy-Spokesperson Kiran Giri, the meeting of office-bearers entrusted a committee headed by Deepak Bohara, party's general secretary, with holding dialogues. The committee includes another General Secretary Buddhiman Tamang, Spokesperson Thakur Prasad Sharma and Giri.
Likewise, RPP-N General Secretary Chandra Bahadur Gurung informed that the committee led by Bista includes Vice-Chairmen Rajeev Parajuli, Tanka Dhakal, Dhawal SJB Rana, Niranjan Thapa and Gurung.
"The country at present needs a strong democratic and nationalist political force and the unification of the two parties could produce this force," said Giri. "Formation of the dialogue committees from both sides is only the initial step towards unification of the two parties," he added.
"Both the RPP-N and RPP leaders share similar past and we were together until the change of 2006," said Gurung. "We cannot fulfill people's expectations until we remain scattered. We should be united to tackle the current political situation," he added.
Despite being a party of former royalists, RPP had voted in favor of federal, republican and secular state during the first Constituent Assembly while RPP-N has been strictly sticking in favor of constitutional monarchy and Hindu state as well as against federalism.
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"We want to form a unified nationalist political force but we don't want to compromise on democratic values and Nepal being a republic state," said a RPP leader, who sought anonymity.
However, RPP-N General Secretary Gurung argued that RPP recently has moved closer to their agenda of Nepal being Hindu state again.
"As ruling as well as opposition alliances are taking different stances, constitution drafting is being delayed. In this scenario, we have been demanding referendum to settle thorny issues in constitution drafting. The two parties could unite on the same ground demanding referendum on disputed issues," explained Gurung.
RPP-N has 24 seats while RPP has 13 seats in the Constituent Assembly.
Meanwhile, a dissident group of RPP-N, led by leader Padma Sundar Lawati, has said it would announce a parallel central committee on Monday. A group led by Lawati has been demanding resignation of party Chairman Kamal Thapa alleging him of not maintaining financial records transparently and of illegally and unilaterally appointing Constituent Assembly members in the proportional representation seats won by the party from the election last year.
However, RPP-N General Secretary Gurung said the dissident group has no significance since the group includes leaders, who were defeated in the general convention of the party.
