Kathmandu, July 29

Member of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Secretariat Ram Bahadur Thapa today floated a proposal in the secretariat meeting that members of the secretariat should not lead any department of the party. His proposal came at a time when top leaders of the party were divided on who should lead the Training Department, responsible for indoctrination of cadres.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel and party Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha have staked claim to head the Training Department.

Senior leader of the party and former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, however, rejected Thapa’s proposal, according to a party source.

Thapa, who also holds the home portfolio in the KP Sharma Oli-led Cabinet, said the party’s rank and file were of the view that the nine secretariat members should not head any department as their plate was already full.

An NCP leader told THT that Thapa claimed in today’s meeting that lower level cadres didn’t want to see senior leaders heading any of the party’s 33 departments.

According to an NCP source,   PM Oli said during the meeting that he wanted to know the views of other leaders also on the issue.  The secretariat then postponed its meeting till August 13.

NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha told mediapersons that the meeting was postponed because senior leaders were going to ask leaders regarding the departments they wanted to lead.

Senior leaders’ failure to name department chiefs has delayed the party’s unification process. Former CPN-UML and CPN-MC had merged in May last year,  but the party has not been able to complete the merger process.