They said they will raise the issue of CA revival as one of the preconditions for resuming their work in the party or else they will break off relations with the UML in the days to come.[break]
A group of UML leaders led by party Vice-chairman Ashok Rai has been boycotting the party´s formal events and meetings, demanding that the UML be ready to delineate and name federal provinces after single-ethnic identity and reinstate the CA, among other things. But the party leadership is reluctant, saying that federalizing the country solely along ethnic lines would be sowing the seeds of ethnic and sectarian conflict in society.
In a bid to pacify the dissident leaders, a recent Central Committee meeting of the UML endorsed a seven-province model based on multi-ethnic identities. As per this proposal the provinces would be named after the identities of the dominant communities and a neutral entity, such as in Bagmati-Newa-Tamsaling.
UML politburo member Prithivi Subba Gurung, a key member of the dissident group, said the party should clearly and firmly lobby for CA reinstatement because the task of constitution writing cannot be accomplished by any institution other than the CA. "Any decision to write a new constitution while bypassing the CA is simply unacceptable," he said.
He criticized the party leadership for not clearly standing for CA revival.
"It seems that our party is waiting for a decision to be taken by the Nepali Congress (NC) or some other party and only then would it follow suit," said Gurung.
The UML dissidents´ decision comes at a time when a large number of former lawmakers from another opposition party, Nepali Congress, have already started campaigning for CA revival.
According to Gurung, the dissident group is not satisfied with the party´s decision to mandate a group of experts with the task of delineating the provinces. "The subject of delineating provinces requires the support of experts. Therefore, a constitutional commission comprising experts from related fields should be formed and the task of delineation carried out as per the suggestions offered by the commission," the party´s decision had stated.
Gurung believes that such a decision came with the intention of further derailing the process of federalizing the country.
Another demand of the dissident group is that the party leadership commit itself to making the UML leadership and organization more inclusive from the next general convention. "All the communities should be well-represented in party organs and the diversity of Nepali society reflected in the UML leadership at various levels," Gurung explained.
Yet another demand of the group is that the party revoke its decision to take action against some UML leaders for their involvement in the campaign for ethnic federalism. The party had removed its central committee member Rajendra Shrestha as UML chief for Kathmandu Valley and expelled Aung Kaji Sherpa, general secretary of the National Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), from the party´s general membership, for using inflammatory language that risked inciting ethnic violence.
"The decision to take action against them should be revoked and the leaders must ensure that party members involved in the campaign will not be under any shadow in future," he said adding that only such a move will create an atmosphere conducive to their continuity in the party.
He informed that he is taking initiatives for talks with the party leadership to create an environment for the dissident leaders to resume their work in the party. "But there is no progress in this regard so far," he said.
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