Nepali Congress Faces Internal Dispute Over Digital Membership Update

The core issue of digitally updating active membership in the Nepali Congress is not solely related to whether to update the party's active membership. This issue is also linked to the overall background of the party. To clarify this matter, we need to go back to last September. The Janji Andolan occurred on September 9. On September 10, a great devastation occurred in the country. After this devastation, our party workers, party leaders, and especially party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, his family, and party central member (then Foreign Minister) Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba were attacked. They were on the verge of death from the attack during the devastation. They are still undergoing treatment to recover from that attack. At that time, an interim government was formed unconstitutionally, and a cabinet was formed under the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki. The House of Representatives, elected by the people, was dissolved, and elections for another House of Representatives were announced. At such a time, when the Nepali Congress party should have been completely united and prepared to counter the adverse situation, the issue of the party's general convention arose within the party. Regarding the 15th General Convention of the party, there was a difference of opinion within the party on whether a regular general convention or a special general convention was appropriate, and finally, the party decided that a regular general convention was appropriate. After that decision, a special general convention was called under the leadership of the then joint general secretaries. The special general convention was held against the decision of the party's central committee with arguments regarding various issues of the constitution. Nevertheless, the leadership that emerged from the special general convention, which was held against the party's official decision, and the central working committee were given legal recognition by the Election Commission and the Supreme Court. Subsequently, the leadership should have taken initiative for the possibility of unity within the party, but a situation arose where unity weakened and the possibilities of unity became weaker. After the central working committee that emerged from the special general convention legally won from the Election Commission and the Supreme Court, instead of moving forward for overall party unity, it proceeded arbitrarily to hold the 15th General Convention. The new leadership, using various types of words, insulted the working committee that emerged from the 14th General Convention and damaged the dignity and reputation of the leadership and the senior leaders of the outgoing working committee in the House of Representatives elections held on February 21. As a result, Congress suffered an unexpected defeat in the House of Representatives elections. After being defeated in the elections, the leadership should have taken initiative for party unity. All of us within the party should have moved forward together. At a time when it was necessary to unite not only those who came to the central committee from the special general convention but also those who were outside, and to extend a hand of cooperation with other political parties in parallel, the leadership divided and fragmented the party's own colleagues by grading them. Who voted in the election and who didn't? Who is close? Who is far? With the objective of whom to keep and whom not to keep, the leadership has moved forward with a prohibitive and controlling method, stating that active members who have renewed and distributed active memberships for the 15th General Convention will be digitally updated within these 3 months, and only those who are updated will be allowed to participate in the convention to be held after 3 months. This method is not right, and the leadership elected to the central committee from the 14th General Convention and the Dr. Shekhar Koirala group are of this opinion. We, the leaders in the central committee from the 14th General Convention, have decided that this method is not right. We also have our arguments and evidence for that. At this time, we have already completed the renewal of active membership by taking the necessary legal procedures and fees for the 15th General Convention. Under the pretext of technical entry, digital entry, or computer entry, that renewal has been started to be scrutinized again. If scrutinized, the party's active members will be narrowed down. The circle of members will become smaller. There is little time for the general convention, so it is not possible to include everyone through the method and procedures currently set. Therefore, our point is not to make the digital update of membership mandatory. There are colleagues in Congress who do not even have time to fill out the form. And how can they be entered into the computer in a short time? Therefore, first, let's unite the party broadly. Let's include the colleagues who have been left out of the party, and after including them, let's go on a public awareness campaign across the country to strengthen the party organization, purify policies, and protect democracy. For that, first of all, we have said to unite the party, but the colleagues who are holding party responsibilities speak very well in various public forums and public programs. They use good language that fits when speaking in programs, but due to the lack of practical face-to-face table talks with the leadership, various disputes remain on such issues, among which the update of active membership is also a dispute. Therefore, the working committee formed from the 14th General Convention has said, let's first negotiate for party unity, and after this negotiation, let's continue the digital entry of active membership that you are doing, but let's make arrangements so that members who have already renewed for the 15th General Convention are not deprived of participating in the general convention. If that can be done, there will be no dispute within Congress. Also, let's decide the date of the 15th General Convention by consensus, and let's decide the necessary committees by consensus. After that, the message of unity will go within the party, is our point, but the leadership is not accepting our point. Due to not accepting it, unity has not happened within Congress, and a difference of opinion has arisen between those who will update active membership and those who will not. Leaders and cadres have been divided into two factions, with some updating and some not. This is making both factions within the party uncomfortable. (Based on the conversation held by Radipatni correspondent Madhusudan Bhattarai with leader Bishwakarma, who was also the head of the publicity department in the outgoing working committee.)