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NC leader Singh blames Deuba, alliance with Dahal for party’s election debacle
Nepali Congress (NC) leader Prakash Man Singh has accused the leadership for the party’s poor showing in all three levels of elections.Nepali Congress (NC) leader Prakash Man Singh has accused the leadership for the party’s poor showing in all three levels of elections.
In a nine-page long report tabled at the party Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Friday, leader Singh blamed the party leadership’s power-lust for its humiliating defeat in the elections. The NC CWC kicked off at party office in Sanepa, Lalitpur, on Friday to review the party’s showing in the three-tier elections.
Dubbing CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal as a betrayer, leader Singh has stated the move to topple the then KP Sharma Oli-led government was a mistake. “The Nepali Congress is compelled to see its current status because of its wrong move to form alliance with a betrayer leader Prachanda to topple the KP Sharma Oli-led government when the latter had reached the height of its popularity after enduring a five-month-long border blockade imposed by India,” Singh has written in the report. “If our leader had shown a little patience and waited a few more months to become the prime minister, the reality of Oli government's hollow nationality formed by criticising India would have been exposed."
Leader Singh said the left alliance of CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) won the elections by capitalising on the NC President’s lack of political patience and shrewdness.
Leader Singh questioned the rationale and moral ground behind party’s decision to field late Sushil Koirala for prime ministerial race. He noted that the decision to field Koirala, who had been widely praised for his leadership role in promulgating the new constitution, to contest the election for the PM’s took a heavy toll on the party’s popularity. “The decision to field Koirala was the beginning of the NC’s downfall,” said leader Singh, “Who was responsible for the decision putting the party at stake, and how much loss the party suffered? As we sit to review the election, this issue should also be an issue for discussion.”
The NC leader has stated that the party’s silence in the five-month-long border blockade has badly affected the election results.
“And it wasn’t less unfortunate that Nepali Congress, perhaps apprehensive about India's possible step to put its Premiership at peril, could not even say it a blockade, when Indian government imposed border blockade for five months leading to a humanitarian crisis and forcing the people suffer the crisis,” Singh stated in his report. “This kind of irresponsible nature of NC leadership distanced the party from the issue of nationality and ultimately antagonised the people. “
Singh, in his report, has stated that the party’s decision to file an impeachment motion against then Chief Justice Sushila Karki and endorsing the condemnation proposal against the Supreme Court decision was deviation from the party’s ideological values.
He further said that the Nepali Congress did not get any posts like Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the federal Parliament, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the National Assembly, President and Vice-President due to an electoral debacle in the all three tiers of elections.
Leader Singh accused President Deuba of violating the party statute, failing to form Central Working Committee (CWC), appointing Vice-President and General Secretary and failing to give final shape to the party departments. This is not only Deuba’s weakness but also an example of his sheer anarchical, he said.
According to the party statute, Vice-President and General Secretary should be appointed and CWC should be formed two months after becoming the party president, Singh said.
He further charged Deuba of violating the party statute by forming a 24-member Parliamentary Committee instead of 11-member committee ahead of the elections.
Singh has stated that he had planned to raise voice against Deuba at that time, but he remained silent fearing that his step would have an adverse effect in the elections.
Though Deuba took the responsibility of the party leadership from the 13th General Assembly expressing his commitment to end the 60/40 division, he accused Deuba of resorting to factionalism.
He blamed Deuba for distributing tickets and making political appointments in a unilateral manner.
Former party General Secretary Singh also criticised Deuba for tarnishing the image of the party by interfering in the appointment of Inspector General of Police (IGP), making humiliating presentation in the BBC TV programme, making weak presentation in the World Literature Forum, forming a 64-member Cabinet and taking part in the controversial programme in Goa.