Members of the fourth task force formed by the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s standing committee to finalise the remaining tasks of unification have contested the decision of the party’s secretariat on ‘dissolving’ the panel for failing to complete its tasks on time.

This move of the nine-member party secretariat, leaders said, would further escalate the intra-party rift within the NCP. Members of the task force claimed that their works were delayed not because of them but due to the stance of the top two leaders. The panel was given the deadline of mid-January to complete their job.

“How can the secretariat decide to dissolve the task force formed by the party’s standing committee,” asked Lekhraj Bhatta, a member of the task force.

Following the secretariat meeting on Monday, party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha said the meeting decided to direct the panel to present its report with the progress so far to the secretariat by Tuesday.

“The secretariat will then prepare necessary proposal and present it to the standing committee,” Shrestha said.

The last meeting of the task force on January 21 had ‘unanimously’ decided to include 10 percent members in the ‘controversial’ provincial committees as per the party statute, claiming the existing list excluded many senior leaders while including junior members violating the party’s statute that a person must work in the party for six years to become eligible for the leadership position.

Coordinator Ram Bahadur Thapa and party General Secretary Bishnu Poudel were entrusted with the task of seeking the nod of the party chairs. However, members of the panel said no meeting has been called since January 21 after both the chairs flatly rejected the proposal, claiming that the provincial committees have already started working after administering the oath.

“The panel is free to take its decision whether the chairpersons like it or not, but the coordinator has not called any meeting since January 21,” said Yogesh Bhattarai, a member of the panel.

The latest standing committee on December 28 had formed a nine-member task force—the fourth one—to resolve the issue of the provincial committee including three leaders each from three different factions of the party led by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal and the two chairs.

The panel headed by Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa include Barshaman Pun and Lekhraj Bhatta from former Maoist party, and General Secretary Bishnu Poudel, Raghubir Mahasheth and Shankar Pokhrel from the Oli faction, and Yogesh Bhattarai, Surendra Pande and Beduram Bhusal representing the Nepal faction.

Members of the panel who are not happy with the secretariat’s decision have said they would put forth their issues at the next panel meeting.

“We don’t accept the direction to send the report to the secretariat without proper discussion. We are eagerly waiting for the notice of the panel’s meeting,” said Bhattarai, adding that they would discuss the issues and present its report to the standing committee.

Party insiders claimed that the secretariat took the decision after the panel failed to make any headway and continued to linger after the Madhav Nepal and Oli factions remained adamant on their stance.