KATHMANDU, Aug 18: Amid protests from leaders close to the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction, the Nepali Congress (NC) Central Working Committee meeting has officially endorsed a proposal of party President Sushil Koirala to form an additional 12 departments in the party.
The CWC meeting held at party headquarters at Sanepa on Friday, also endorsed Koirala´s earlier decision to name the heads of the party´s 42 departments, including 12 new departments, and the 14 zonal coordination committee coordinators, through majority vote.
The meeting, however, concluded without any ´minuting´ as the CWC members close to Deuba insisted that they be allowed to write a ´note of dissent´. Deuba faction leaders had all walked out of the hall shortly after Koirala exited the venue saying all his proposals were endorsed.
CWC member Dhan Raj Gurung, who is close to the establishment faction, said the rival faction leaders argued that since they had already resigned from their posts because of their reservations, they could not endorse the proposals.
Koirala had turned down the demand of Deuba faction leaders to be allowed to write a note of dissent. "I have taken the decisions in line with the party statute and regulations. Why do you blow every decision I take out of proportion?" Gurung quoted Koirala as saying.
Koirala named the chiefs of the 42 departments and zonal coordinators on July 29, nearly two years after the party´s 12th General Convention. As per the party statute the appointments were due within two months of the general convention held in September, 2010 but were delayed by differences between the factions.
The differences surfaced again after 13 department chiefs and six zonal coordination committee coordinators resigned on Wednesday.
NC Spokesperson Dilendra Prasad Badu said the CWC meeting has rejected the resignations. "They said they would write a note of dissent and they can do so if they wish," he said.
Leaders close to the Deuba faction have termed the ´majority decisions´ as ´unfortunate´. "What happened today is very unfortunate. This is due to the party president," said Purna Bahadur Khadka.
Khadka claimed Koirala had all of sudden announced that his proposals were endorsed though CWC members from their faction were still putting forth their views. "We immediately registered our dissent and said we would write a note of dissent," he said. "But as Koirala refused our demand, we asked which provisions barred us from writing the note of dissent."
Speaking at the meeting, CWC members close to the Deuba faction had asked party office bearers including Koirala to bring the proposals in consensus even though that may take a few days.
The establishment faction has taken the Deuba faction´s insistence on consensus as a ploy to render Koirala ´unsuccessful´. "We waited two years for consensus. How can there be consensus at a time when leaders from the other faction are resigning en masse?" asked Bishwakarma. "We will now move forcefully against them."
Despite the Deuba faction boycott, the CWC meeting also decided to form a central discipline committee, an election committee and an audit committee of the party.
The discipline committee headed by Aamod Prasad Upadhyaya includes Dil Bahadur Gharti and Meena Pandey as members. Two other members will be included once the Deuba faction submits names.
Likewise, the election committee headed by advocate Yadu Nath Khanal has advocate Gopal Krishna Ghimire as member. Similarly, Deep Kumar Upadhyay heads the audit committee with chartered accountant Dilip Dhungana as a member.
There is an understanding to include one member each from the Deuba faction in the election committee and the audit committee
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