KATHMANDU, Oct 1: Nepali Congress (NC) former general secretary Dr Shashank Koirala has warned that the party faces a bleak future if it fails to resolve its internal disputes and heads towards a split.
Koirala, who is also coordinator of the 15th General Convention Organising Committee formed by the party’s establishment rival faction, said unity was the only way to prevent the party from heading towards such a situation.
With the two factions preparing separately for the 15th General Convention, Koirala told Nagarik Daily editor Balkrishna Adhikari that although his faction was preparing for a parallel convention, his ultimate objective remained party unity.
He said Gagan Kumar Thapa, who assumed the party leadership through the Special General Convention, former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and other senior leaders should hold open talks to reach an agreement.
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“The 15th General Convention should actually be a convention of unity,” Koirala said. “The Congress can become strong only when it remains united. If it splits, its future could be bleak.”
Koirala stressed that the two sides should reach an agreement through dialogue before the convention. He said preparations for a parallel convention could put pressure on the factions to work towards unity, although he acknowledged that holding separate conventions could also increase the risk of a party split.
He argued that the party should go into the convention recognising Deuba, who was elected president at the 14th General Convention, as its legitimate leader.
Koirala said Deuba wanted to conduct the convention and hand over the leadership in a dignified manner, adding that political disputes should be settled through political dialogue.
Acknowledging the need for a generational transition within the Nepali Congress, Koirala said younger leaders should be given greater space in the party leadership. However, he argued that the transition should take place naturally rather than by forcibly pushing out the older generation.
He said both Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma were capable leaders whose roles were important for the party.
On religion, Koirala said he firmly believed that religion should remain free from state classification.
“I am very clear about religion. Religion is neither secular nor relative. Religion is free,” he said.
Koirala said religion was a matter of individual belief and personal faith and should be left to individual choice rather than being defined by the state as either secular or religious.
