Kathmandu, January 30:

The Nepal Congress (NC), the country’s oldest and premier party, is in a mess with a section of the party charging the leadership of “shouldering” the Maoists and the party leadership warning the disgruntled group of action for going against the party line.

No sooner had the party’s acting president Sushil Koirala on Monday said the party would take action against leaders advocating monarchy and going against the party line, than party central leader Govinda Raj Joshi challenged Koirala’s warning that their remarks were in tune with the Mahasamiti decision of the party.

A section of the party, headed by party general secretary KB Gurung, explicitly challenged the party decision by boycotting the first joint mass meeting of the seven parties in Kathmandu organised by the NC on January 14. The mass meeting was aimed at assuring the people of holding the CA polls on time.

“We cannot put up with the party’s deviation from its ideology or a leadership that is shouldering the Maoist party” Joshi said. Joshi and his associates feel that the Maoists are trying to rebuild their wiped-out image in the Tarai by “making the fullest advantage” of the NC party.

NC central member Bijay Kumar Gachhadar has this to argue: “NC is, knowingly or unknowingly, assisting the Maoists to re-build their tarnished image and political base in the Tarai.”

Among others, Joshi, Gachhadar, KB Gurung, Devendra Raj Kandel, Suresh Malla, Chirinjibi Wagle, Mahadev Gurung, Binay Dhoj Chand of the group have been trying to meet party President and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to express their grudges but they have not been able to meet him. The group said it is, however, optimistic that its leaders would meet PM Koirala and caution him about the consequences of going hand-in-hand with the Maoist party.

Gachhadar, however, denied accusations that the party dissidents are supporters of monarchy. He said they are not royalists but staunch supporters of th party. They argue that the one and only concern of the group is to save the Nepali Congress from the

Left (Maoist) influence.

Party Joint President Sushil Koirala, however, is not convinced with the argument. Instead, he issued a warning that action would be taken against anyone who is going against the party line. On Monday, party Acting President Sushil Koirala categorically said action would be taken against a few, including PM Koirala’s daughter and Minister Without Portfolio, Sujata Koirala, for advocating a monarchy. Sujata’s remarks on reviving the 1990 Constitution generated a heated debate. On January 16, lawmakers even sought her resignation or immediate dismissal from her father-led cabinet.

The joint mass meetings organised in seven parts of the country are, however, a result of the 23-point agreement reached among the seven parties on December 23, NC Vice President Prakash Man Singh said. The disgruntled group, however, has cautioned that the joint meetings of the seven parties would not only be meaningless but will also yield an “unproductive” outcome.

Joshi and his group were quite strident in criticising the Maoists. They referred to Prachanda’s meeting with “royalists-nationalists” and his meetings with a minister of the Royal regime and charged the party with not following democratic principles. His accusation came a day after Prachanda conceded he met Ramesh Nath Pandey, quite a colourful minister of the royal regime.

A statement issued on January 26 by the NC charging the Maoists with breaching the 23-point pact energised the dissatisfied faction since the statement said what they were trying to speak and notify the party leadership. Former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba was hooted and shown black-flags by YCL cadres at a NC mass meeting in Chaurajhari of Rukum last Thursday, according to the party. The NC termed the action as a “sheer violation” of the 23-point agreement.