• CPN-MC GENERAL CONVENTION
KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 28
A day after CPN-Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal called for ensuring identity-based federalism in his political document that he presented in the party's eighth general convention, another party leader, Ram Karki, presented a document countering Dahal.
Karki stressed that federalism was meant to promote development, omitting any reference to identity.
He said that his party supported federalism for enabling local people to take decisions to ensure local development, such as building irrigation canals, bridges, roads, health centres, and schools.
"We never intended that in a poor country like Nepal people's representatives would travel in expensive cars to celebrate birthdays, child naming ceremonies, or rice feeding ceremonies," Karki stated in his document.
Karki said that in the absence of a monitoring mechanism, the poor did not have any say in preventing the misuse of budget. He said if that continued the poor would start fearing federalism.
He said that federalism should be people friendly, not something people fear.
He did not say anything to express commitment to identity-based federalism.
Yesterday, Dahal stated on page 33 of his political document that his party registered a note of dissent during the constitution-making process, expressing commitment to the identity-based federalism.
He added that the party should strive to ensure identity-based federalism from three fronts - street, parliament, and the government.
Karki said that the emancipation of oppressed groups was not possible by concessions provided by the domineering group.
He said that the tendency of picking a few people from the oppressed class and giving them positions or medals could not empower targeted communities.
"Real empowerment is possible only when the oppressed class has a chance to take part in policy decisions." He said that the party should not emulate people's multi-party democracy that led to the downfall of the CPN-UML.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 29, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
