KATHMANDU, Feb 27: A majority of Central Working Committee (CWC) members of the Nepali Congress on Tuesday came down heavily on the party leadership for accepting the UCPN (Maoist) proposal to form an election government under the sitting chief justice.
Addressing an informal CWC meeting held in Sanepa, disgruntled CWC members alleged that party leadership overstepped the mandate given them by the party´s CWC meeting. They maintained that the decision to accept CJ-led government was against the principle of separation of powers.
Those speaking against the party´s decision were Sujata Koirala, Dr Shekhar Koirala, Purna Bahadur Khadka, Kamala Panta, NP Saud and Arjun Narsingh KC. However, CWC members Mahendra Yadav, Arjun Joshi, Aftab Aalam and Ramesh Rijal had defended the party´s decision arguing that it was the only way to oust the Baburam Bhattarai-led government and hold election at the earliest possible date.
Addressing the meeting, top leaders, including party president Sushil Koirala, vice president Ram Chandra Paudel and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba had argued that they had not gone against the decision of the CWC meeting. They also argued that they had paid special attention to upholding the principle of separation of powers and asked middle-rung leaders not to speak against the party´s decision in public.
Paudel said that they decided to accept the Maoist proposal to form CJ-led government as this was the only way to ensure timely election. “Formation of a new government and holding fresh election at the earliest are the main demands of NC. Since the proposal helps achieve both the goals, we decided to accept it,” Paudel told the meeting.
Likewise, Deuba had defended the move saying there were no other alternative to oust Bhattarai-led government and hold fresh election. He also maintained that it was far better for NC to accept CJ-led government than to join the Bhattarai-led government.
Disgruntled CWC members had argued that the decision would not only put the democracy in peril, but also threaten the existence of Nepal as a sovereign nation. They had also suggested to the party leadership to correct the decision, saying it was never late to correct rectify mistakes.
Speaking on the occasion, Arjun Narasingh KC suggested to the party leadership to demand resignation of chief justice before he assumes the post of executive head of the country. “This will be a middle way to resolve the differences within the party,” he had argued.
The informal CWC meeting of NC will continue Wednesday afternoon. Though the meeting will not change the party´s previous decision to accept CJ-led election government, there will be detailed discussions on the pros and cons of the decision.
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