Interview: Youth Association Nepal President Maharaj Gurung on Party Crisis

Kathmandu. After the defeat in the election, the CPN-UML has not been able to regain its momentum. It has not even been able to conduct an intensive review of the election. Instead, internal conflict within the party has increased. There is no consensus among UML leaders regarding the arrest of party chairman KP Sharma Oli. The controversy became public after the selection of the parliamentary party leader and the subsequent statement made by party leader Ram Bahadur Thapa 'Badal' in Parliament. 

Party workers burned the effigy of General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and staged protests at the party office. Some have even launched a signature campaign demanding a special general convention. While demands for overall party restructuring are rising, what is the party's youth organization, the Youth Association Nepal, doing? As demands for restructuring grow, leaders of the Youth Association are also being accused of being focused on protecting specific individuals. Here are the edited excerpts of the conversation with the President of the National Youth Association, Nepal, Maharaj Gurung, on Ratopati's 'Warpar' (the full video can be watched/heard): 

The National Youth Association, Nepal has not been a political and ideological organization for some years. It is accused of being an organization that intimidates groups within the party, or acts as a goon squad. Is this true? 

The National Youth Association, Nepal is an organization that has produced many excellent national-level leaders. Even after the Maoist conflict ended and the peace process began, the excesses of the YCL created an environment of terror, disgust, and fear in society. At that time, leaders thought we should make the Youth Association a militant organization alongside politics to create an environment for resistance, which is why it appeared as a militant organization.

But we are a political organization. We have been gradually explaining that, and today, what you mentioned has decreased significantly.

Would it be accurate to call it a 'puppet organization' for certain leaders? 

Once you become a worker of a communist party, it is important to follow rules and laws and fulfill the role that a mass organization should perform. 

There is an accusation that the Youth Association is busy saving the party chairman, but failed to save the party itself?

That is also there. The election results have shown us that. 

What did the election results show?

The public did not like the political system we followed, the ideology we adopted, and the programs we implemented. 

Ideologically and politically, that may be one thing, but organizationally, the Youth Association looked so weak that the street protests against the chairman's arrest were a complete disaster!

Can we free our chairman by protesting on the streets? How much pain does it cause people when we protest on the streets? Can school buses reach their destinations? Can a person going to the office reach on time? Can an ambulance carrying a patient reach the hospital? We analyzed all these issues. 

Is it that people didn't show up when you called? Is that why people think you backed down? 

Even in such a situation, the UML secured 1.4 to 1.5 million votes in the proportional representation system. It's not that we couldn't gather people or crowds. If the National Youth Association Nepal wanted to, we could shut down Nepal completely. But that is not a permanent solution. We cannot reach our vision of a prosperous Nepal and happy Nepalis by doing that. 

The National Youth Association also appeared to be an obstacle to change; you opposed the young MP Suhang Nembang during the selection of the parliamentary party leader, didn't you?
 
We did not name this or that person to the party leaders. But we did tell the leaders to make a decision that sends a youth-friendly message. 

You must have heard the speech made by party leader Ram Bahadur Thapa 'Badal' in Parliament. Do you support it?

The party has already made an institutional decision that what party leader Ram Bahadur Thapa said did not align with our party's principles.

Should such a person be punished as the party leader?

I think the party will establish a system where the party leader engages in positive self-criticism and decides through meetings what issues to raise in the future. 

Who wrote the speech he read?

He would know that himself. 

There is a debate about party restructuring within the UML. Internal conflict has also increased. Is restructuring necessary? 

The party chairman is in police custody. At this time, it is not very fair for me to say what should or should not happen regarding the party. But our 2.8 million votes dropped to 1.4 million. We were limited to 9 seats in the direct election. This must be discussed. 

Is the Youth Association President saying at this time that we should not pay attention to whether the UML is weak or sinking, but rather focus on getting the party chairman out safely?

Our party's respected chairman is KP Sharma Oli. If KP Oli is weakened, the CPN-UML can be weakened. The government's vendetta—that once the chairman is jailed, others won't be able to speak and they can do or say whatever they want—needs to be countered. If the head of the house is sick and in trouble, and we focus on changing the house instead of helping him, we will not reach the right place.

Should we understand that along with the chairman, the UML is also currently in custody?
 
No. We are carrying out our activities. The chairman has already given the responsibility of acting chairman to Comrade Badal. The acting chairman is presiding. Every structure of the party is functioning, holding meetings, and discussing. 

Your intention is understood that the first task is to release the chairman from custody. Once released, can you tell the chairman to step down because he has failed? 

Whether the chairman should step down or not is also a matter of review. Let's discuss it at different levels to see what the conclusion is. Where is the problem? Once the root cause is identified, we can reach a conclusion on what can be done to make the UML like it was in the past.

The situation is such that party workers have started burning the effigy of the General Secretary. They have started surrounding the central office. They are running a signature campaign for a special general convention...

No one has told me about a signature campaign yet. I take the protests against the General Secretary as an exercise of the People's Multiparty Democracy. There is a belief that one should be able to question leaders. Friends asked questions. Now they are proceeding positively. After being told that burning effigies is not good, they understood. The next day they even gave flowers. The General Secretary will not feel bad because the youth protested. This should be taken naturally.

The current government has brought up the idea of dissolving organizations like yours. Do you agree with this?

When a youth of age says they want to work for the nation, the country, and society, and join politics, it is a matter of being able to join a political party. Dissolving them is purely an act of revenge. This will not lead to the right place. It might seem right to them while they are in government, but tomorrow when they are in the opposition, it might seem wrong to them. 

Video/Photo: Manoj Khadka

Video Editing: Dashraj Shrestha