National
Congress meeting put off over charter row
The Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of Nepali Congress, which was scheduled to take place on Friday, was deferred by three days, owing to the dispute in the party’s student wing, Nepal Student Union.The Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of Nepali Congress, which was scheduled to take place on Friday, was deferred by three days, owing to the dispute in the party’s student wing, Nepal Student Union.
Party leaders said the meeting was postponed till Friday as the row over the NSU charter remained unsettled.The Congress’s student body is preparing to hold its 12th General Convention on November 2-4, and for that it needs to endorse the organisational charter.
The student leaders are still not decided on the age threshold for members of the orgainsation— the existing cut-off age of 32 for NSU membership remains the main bone of contention. The student leaders are divided into two factions, one of NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba and the other of senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel.
Though the NC has formed a committee, led by Joint Secretary General Prakash Sharan Mahat, to settle the matter, it has so far failed to accomplish its objective, said NSU leader Motilal Bhandari. As the dispute between two rival camps escalated, NC Secretary General Sashank Koirala had proposed postponing the meeting. Both the Deuba and the Poudel factions are vying to wrest control of the student body.Student leaders who support Poudel and his rival Krishna Prasad Sitaula have come together to oppose the 32-year-old cut-off age for NSU membership.Former NSU presidents Kishor Singh Rathour and Guru Raj Ghimire are in favour of continuing the age limit.
According to Bhandari, the NSU had already decided to approve the new charter and dispatch central delegation to all 77 districts and all campuses to hold the convention to pick the new leadership, but the dispute resurfaced after the incumbent president of the organisation, Nain Singh Mahara, appointed 15 additional central working committee members.
The supporters of Mahar said that the decision was taken to accommodate the discontent leaders from the faction close to NC leader Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar. Meanwhile, a group of NSU students from the Dalit community padlocked the organisation’s central office on Friday, demanding Dalit representation in the central working committee.
NSU leaders from the Poudel and the Situala factions have accused the Deuba camp of creating disharmony in the organisation after losing its footing in other sister organisations. Dipak Bhattarai, Bhandari and Himal Shrestha are
candidates from the Poudel faction for the NSU presidency while Saroj Thapa, Rajeev Dhungana, Shuva Ram Basnet are vying from the Deuba camp. Kundan Raj Kafle and Yubraj Pandey are possible presidential candidates from the Situala camp.