As the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction continues to call meetings and make statements on its own, Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa - who was elected through a disputed Special General Convention - has declared that unauthorised activity outside of the party office has a limit and will not be tolerated.
NC President Thapa said so during a Nepali New Year 2083 BS greetings exchange programme today, referring to the faction of former NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba that is conducting parallel activities within the party.
He started the active membership update programme while visiting the Ward 30 Unit Office in Kathmandu. Thapa also updated his own active membership during that period.
"I have a request for each and every party leader. The new year has just begun. It is my responsibility to bring everyone along ... I have to form a party capable of carrying out the opposition's responsibilities," he stated. "This requires everyone's cooperation. Unauthorised activities outside the party office have a limit, and exceeding it is not acceptable."
He promised to be courteous and accommodating to all parties in order to unite the party because he is in a leadership position. However, he also asked that his adaptability and humility not be viewed as a weakness.
"As the party's leader, I should be more accommodating and courteous ... However, please do not consider my flexibility and humility to be a weakness. The party's statute also applies to me," he stated.
Additionally, he stated that the Nepali Congress would constructively assume the role of the opposition. According to him, the NC will assist and collaborate with the government's efforts in a legal way.
According to him, the NC will assist and collaborate with the government's efforts to promote good governance. He emphasised that local and provincial governments would also be involved.
Recently, the Deuba faction and Purna Bahadur Khadka have held separate meetings and issued statements. Khadka, the outgoing acting president of Nepali Congress, has challenged the party's disciplinary committee. In his role as acting president, Khadka released a statement on the party's letterhead yesterday.
The Central Working Committee, headed by Thapa, was officially recognised by the Election Commission on January 16 after being chosen from the Special General Convention that took place from January 11 to 14.
Following that, Khadka and other office bearers from the 14th General Convention were supposed to resign. However, the rift within the oldest political party in the country has continued.
A writ petition against the Election Commission's decision - filed by Deuba, who was elected president at the 14th General Convention, and leader Dr Shekhar Koirala's group - is still pending in the Supreme Court, suggesting that the Deuba faction is awaiting the court's decision.
In his role as acting president, Khadka released a statement on March 28 criticising the arrest of former prime minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and former home minister and Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak, although Thapa-led committee that resulted from the Special General Convention was still in operation.
The disciplinary committee had decided to issue a warning to Khadka, stating that it was improper for him to make unapproved remarks as acting president on fake party letterhead. "From now on, it is decided to take action against anyone who commits such wrongdoing in accordance with the Nepali Congress Statute, 1960 (with amendments) and prevailing Nepali laws," the statement released following the disciplinary committee meeting on April 1 stated.
Khadka has challenged the warning. He issued a statement yesterday as acting president, using the party's letterhead.
He said: "Party membership taken at the risk of life when the Nepali Congress Party was banned in the non-partisan autocratic Panchayat system is not and cannot be revoked by any leader through a speech in a fit of passion, excitement or impatience."
