Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 7:

The split-away faction of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has decided to form a steering committee on Sunday for the overall monitoring of the scheduled “greater national political conference”. “Former ministers of the then Surya Bahadur Thapa cabinet will meet at his Maligaon residence, which will give the responsibility of political motivator to former minister Kamal Thapa,” a party source told this daily today insisting anonymity.

Observers, however, note that this step may have been taken to prevent Kamal Thapa from re-joining the parent Rastriya Prajatantra Party. “The whole thing will come back to normal conditions after the meeting, the source said further claiming to have sorted out the intra-party differences with Kamal Thapa. We have asked him (Kamal Thapa) to become active,” he said. The Thapa-led faction is also organising regional conventions in Bhairahawa and Pokhara in the third and last week of January respectively.

Besides, the faction, which is all set to announce a “new democratic force” in the near future, has also decided to form various district committees to assist the steering committee. Meanwhile, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party today formed a 60-member party strengthening and monitoring committee with a view to make the party more effective and stronger.

The party has directed the members of the committee to submit their reports after visiting 39 districts of the country. The party has also included the ministers representing the party in the committee.