NC CWC meet put off indefinitely

KATHMANDU, Dec 3: The ongoing Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the Nepali Congress has been put off indefinitely after an overwhelming majority of CWC members suggested the party president to bring the nomination proposal of vice president and general secretary through consensus.

Leaders said President Sushil Koirala will call the next meeting after reaching a ´package deal´ with Deuba faction on the nomination of the party´s office bearers, members of parliamentary party board, chief of various departments within the party and 20 nominated CWC members.

Altogether nine CWC members including Ajaya Chaurasiya, Pushpa Bhusal, Kishor Singh Rathour, Shekhar Koirala, Shashanka Koirala, Sita Gurung, Dina Upadhyaya, Mahesh Acharya and Narendra Bikram Nembang took part in the Thursday´s deliberation on President Koirala´s proposal. Most of these members stressed on the need to bring the nomination proposal through consensus and not to opt for voting as it could create psychological divide in the party.

President Koirala had proposed Ram Chandra Paudel as vice president and Krishna Prasad Sitaula as general secretary of the party during the CWC meeting on Sunday. The deliberation on the nomination proposal continued for the fifth day in a row on Thursday as CWC members stood sharply divided over the proposal.

Koirala´s proposal fell in minority as the CWC members belonging to Deuba faction along with some from his own camp including Arjun Nara Singh KC, Sujata Koirala, KB Gurung and Gagan Thapa stood against it.

A leader close to President Koirala said the next CWC meeting would be called again soon after a ´package deal´ is reached with Deuba faction on the nomination issue. Nevertheless, President Koirala is not in a mood to withdraw the nomination of Paudel and Sitaula. "He will ensure representation of the leaders from Deuba camp in other positions to bring the rival faction into confidence," said the leader, asking to be unnamed.

Paudel to be relieved from vice president´s post if elected PM

Addressing the concluding session of the Thursday´s CWC meeting, President Koirala said that he has decided to strictly implement ´one person one post´ policy in the party. He said that those in the government´s ministerial positions would be denied party´s office bearers´ position. "I have proposed the name of Ram Chandra Paudel as vice president," a CWC member quoted Koirala as saying. "He will be relieved from the position if he got elected as prime minister."

NC asks govt to summon House session at the earliest to elect new PM

The NC CWC meeting on Thursday asked the government to summon the House session at the earliest to give the country a new prime minister. The meeting demanded resumption of the prime ministerial voting in the parliament arguing that the country should not be left without a prime minister for a long time.

The only prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Paudel failed to get adequate votes even after 16th round of voting as CPN-UML and Madhes-based parties chose to stay neutral.

The prime ministerial voting has been stalled after the government decided to prorogue the House session following the Maoist assault in the parliament against Finance Minister Surendra Pandey. The CWC meeting has also demanded action against those involved in manhandling Pandey and vandalizing furniture in the parliament.

Among other things, the meeting has also welcomed the recent release of democracy leader Ang Sann Su Kyi by the military regime in Myanmar.

Money used to influence office bearers´ nomination: Sujata

CWC member Sujata Koirala has alleged that money was being used to influence President Koirala´s nomination proposal. Talking to media persons after the CWC meeting, Koirala claimed that those wanting to pass the proposal and others wanting to foil it tried to influence CWC members with money. "This tendency won´t benefit the party," she said. She asked the top leaders of the party to hold negotiations to settle the nomination row amicably. "Either the party president should withdraw nomination proposal or top leaders should sit together to settle the row amicably," she said.

General Secy Singh named NC Spokesperson

The CWC meeting on Thursday named General Secretary Prakash Man Singh as the party´s spokesperson. Singh´s name was picked in the wake of conflicting statements coming from various leaders in response to the party´s decision. The meeting decided that Singh´s remarks will be considered the official voice of the party.

Prior to the 12th General Convention, the NC had appointed Arjun Nara Singh KC as the party´s spokesperson. Singh was elected general secretary of the party in the recently held general convention.

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