Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has claimed that Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka had declined an offer to take the party presidency.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the 2nd Special General Convention of the party in Kathmandu on Sunday, Thapa said he was hurt by Khadka’s absence at the inauguration ceremony. “General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma and I visited Khadka’s residence and requested him to become party president. His absence from the inauguration ceremony has hurt me,” Thapa said.
Thapa also claimed that he had urged party President Sher Bahadur Deuba to step aside and take a rest. “We have told the party president that the time has come for him to step aside, take a rest, and clear the way,” Thapa said. “When he said he would step down, people within the NC and outside it alike said a leader should be like Sher Bahadur Deuba. Despite that, he did not show responsibility towards the special convention.”
“General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma and I visited Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka’s residence and requested him to become party president. His absence from the inauguration ceremony has hurt me,” Thapa said.
He also claimed that the special general convention is not a struggle for power or authority. “The special convention has been convened due to differences in thinking over whether or not the party should be guided in line with public sentiment. I urged NC leaders and cadres not to interpret it as a contest for power or position,” he said.
Thapa said since the special general convention had been organised by general convention representatives, not by the leadership, its decisions must be accepted by all. “If the convention wishes, it can change both leadership and policy. I will accept whatever decisions are made by the closed-door session,” he added. “Efforts made by the convention delegates have succeeded in establishing that the NC is not the party of slaves and corpses.
Thapa said young people, angered by corruption, poor governance, and disorder, had taken to the streets, and that the special general convention would seek to understand, reflect upon, and address their sentiments.
