Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: As rival factions of the Nepali Congress move ahead with plans to hold separate 15th General Conventions, a small group of party leaders has started making efforts for unity.
Saying that the political situation is becoming increasingly fluid and challenging, they have urged both factions to move forward together.
In a joint statement on Friday, leaders including Mahalakshmi Upadhyay, Surendra Pandey, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, Min Bahadur Bishwakarma, Ram Hari Khatiwada and Nain Singh Mahar urged leaders of both factions to preserve unity. They also urged both factions to postpone their respective general convention schedules and initiate talks.
“The role of party President Gagan Thapa will be particularly important in preserving unity within the NC,” they said in the joint statement. “While discharging his responsibilities as party president, we strongly urge Thapa to suspend the 15th general convention schedules announced by both factions and initiate decisive talks as soon as possible for party unity.”
The leaders also met NC President Gagan Kumar Thapa on Friday and urged him to take necessary initaitives to preserve unity.
They stressed the need for the two sides to move forward together by creating an environment in which all party members can participate in the 15th General Convention, select strong leadership and establish a clear direction for the party.
“We have gained various bitter and sweet experiences from the special general convention held in the lead-up to the 15th General Convention,” they said in the statement. “Learning from those experiences, we must now resolve not to carry past disputes and differences forward, but to unite the party and move ahead as one.”
Stating that the party’s internal conflicts were affecting national politics as a whole, they warned that further escalation of disputes or further fragmentation of the party would not be in the interest of the nation or democracy.
They urged the party leadership to abandon personal interests and egos, put the broader interests of the party first and initiate decisive talks aimed at achieving unity.
