KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 20

Nepali Congress rival faction leader Shekhar Koirala met party President Sher Bahadur Deuba and accused him of running the party unilaterally.

Koirala, accompanied by NC Vice Chair Dhanraj Gurung and Joint-General Secretary Jeevan Pariyar, told Deuba that if he did not mend his ways, he would not care about him, according to Koirala's personal secretary Dinesh Chandra Thapaliya. 'You have ignored my suggestions repeatedly. If you continue to do that, I won't care about you from now on and I will move ahead in the way I deem fit,' Thapaliya quoted Koirala as telling Deuba. Koirala accused Deuba of unilaterally running the party.

Koirala who was defeated by Deuba in the race for party presidency two years ago, enjoys good support in the party. Koirala told Deuba he was not running the party as per with the party's statute and ideals.

Koirala told Deuba he had unnecessarily added members to the two sister wings of the party - Tarun Dal and Nepal Students Union. Koirala also accused Deuba of not discussing who should represent the party in the federal and provincial cabinets.

There are nine NC ministers in Pushpa Kamal Dahal's Cabinet and the rival faction led by Koirala had demanded three ministers from his faction. Deuba, however, refused to nominate three members from Koirala's faction. Koirala also said the NC should not have supported the idea of getting the Koshi Provincial Assembly Chair's vote in favour of then Chief Minister Uddhav Thapa. Thapa lost his government after the Supreme Court ruled that his vote of confidence was illegal as Israel Mansuri who chaired the PA meeting had voted in favour of Thapa. Koirala said the NC must not go beyond the spirit of the constitution.

Koirala accused Deuba of not discussing with him who should be chief ministers in the provinces and who should represent the party in the provincial cabinets.

Koirala reminded Deuba of his pledge after NC's 14th National Convention where he had said he would not limit himself to his faction and would run the party with everybody's confidence.

Deuba had said he would form the party's departments within six months, has not. Koirala's faction also accused Deuba of appointing his faction leaders as chiefs of attractive departments.

NC leader Arjun Narsingh KC said he was in favour of Koirala developing a collective spirit in his camp by bringing both Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Pradeep Poudel together. 'I think there should be understanding as to what Koirala will do and what Gagan Kumar Thapa will do,' he added. We can announce names of candidates for party leadership only when the next general convention approaches, but at present at least we can develop collective spirit, KC said.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.