KATHMANDU, Jan 14: The Nepali Congress (NC) on Wednesday escalated its internal power struggle by taking disciplinary action against General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, along with Joint General Secretary Farmullah Mansoor, barring them from holding even ordinary party membership for five years.
Party leaders said the decision was taken amid a deepening rift between the party establishment and leaders backing a Special General Convention, following the collapse of talks aimed at bridging differences within the party. Central Working Committee (CWC) members close to party President Sher Bahadur Deuba confirmed that the disciplinary action entails suspension of ordinary membership for all three leaders for the next five years.
Gagan Thapa faction rejects NC disciplinary action as ‘unauthor...
The move came after proponents of the Special General Convention had put forward an eight-point proposal in an attempt to reach a negotiated settlement. However, despite multiple rounds of discussions, the two sides failed to forge a consensus, leading to the breakdown of talks.
With negotiations having fallen apart, leaders aligned with the Special General Convention are now preparing to announce a new working committee later today, a step likely to further intensify the crisis within the country’s largest political party.
