Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Former Nepali Congress (NC) Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka has urged party President Gagan Thapa to suspend the party’s 15th general convention schedule.
Khadka made the appeal on Thursday, just two days before the party’s ward conventions, saying that party unity is still possible.
“Please suspend the 15th general convention timeline, which is set to begin on September 19, and postpone it for some time,” Khadka said in a social media post addressed to President Thapa. “Based on the foundation of decisions you have taken in the party, immediately take the initiative to begin talks with respected senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, the party president elected by the 14th general convention, and other senior leaders. I am confident that complete unity in the party is still possible.”
Khadka claimed that had the decisions taken now been made following the talks held between the two sides on May 4, the entire party would have been united under Thapa’s leadership.
The former vice president warned that if the two separate conventions are not stopped, no one will be able to prevent the party from splitting.
“My inner conscience tells me that within a few months of the Nepali Congress splitting, the CPN-UML, the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) and other parties, particularly those that played important roles in drafting the constitution, will also split or be made to split,” he said.
Khadka also insisted that past developments and various forms of maneuvering had given him a sense that an unimaginable conflict could erupt in the country.
“Past developments, signs and various kinds of maneuvering indicate this. For some reason, my inner conscience is telling me that an unimaginable battle of ethnic, regional and religious conflict will erupt—or be instigated—in the country,” he said. “Our beloved country appears to be heading toward a vicious cycle of a devastating conflict that could even make us forget September 10. What will happen then to our country’s nationalism, territorial integrity, sovereignty and self-respect?”
Khadka urged Thapa to suspend the general convention and focus on restoring party unity, saying legal issues, court decisions and the party statute would not create obstacles.
“Therefore, I say this with confidence: You will not face any problem or difficulty because of the law, court decisions or the party statute. Rest assured,” he said.
