Congress announces nationwide protests

PRAKASH ACHARYA

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress today announced its first phase 15-day nationwide protest programme from June 17-30 against the government’s ‘undemocratic and unconstitutional’ dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and announcement of fresh CA polls.

The Nepali Congress has demanded Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s immediate resignation to bring the country back to the constitutional track.

The protest programmes include organising gatherings in districts, villages, municipalities and wards, demonstrating with black flags, organising whistle rally and corner meetings from June 17 to 22.

Holding district level interactions on June 23 in all districts and organising protest rallies and mass meetings from June 24 to 30 in all villages, municipalities and districts are the other protest programmes, said the party in a statement after today’s Central Working Committee meeting.

The CWC also decided to boycott all programmes participated by ministers .

Party members have demanded that the leadership make clear its position on which of the five alternatives — reinstating the CA, holding fresh CA polls, holding elections for parliament with the mandate of promulgating the new constitution, holding round-table meeting for drafting the constitution and drafting the constitution through a commission and approving it through referendum — should be the party’s official position.

Meanwhile, senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction did not attend the meeting today demanding that two more members of his choice be nominated to the Nepal Student Union, Nepal Tarun Dal and Nepal Mahila Sangh.

Although party President Sushil Koirala agreed to provide 20 members for NSU and six members each for NTD and NMS from Deuba’s side, the Deuba camp today demanded two more members for each of the three sister bodies. If this demand is fulfiled, the Sushil Koirala camp will have 74 and Deuba camp 50 members in the 124-member strong student union.

Likewise, Deuba side will have 25 and Koirala side will have 22 members each in NTD and NMS.

A senior leader from the Deuba faction said that the dispute within the Nepali Congress party would possibly be settled within the next two days and the Deuba side will take part in Friday’s CWC meeting.