Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress (NC) appears headed for a split after the party and its anti-establishment faction organized a separate event in Kathmandu to mark BP Koirala Memorial Day.
The faction held its event at the Nepal Academy in Kathmandu, while the establishment faction organized a “Green Run” competition earlier in the morning to raise public awareness about climate change.
Former acting NC President Purna Bahadur Khadka, former vice presidents Bimalendra Nidhi and Prakash Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Shekhar Koirala and Mohan Basnet, among other leaders, attended the event organized by the anti-establishment faction.
Addressing the event organized at Nepal Academy, anti-establishment faction leader Mohan Bahadur Basnet said the faction should announce a national gathering and begin the process of forming a new party. He added that there was no point in continuing to talk about unity and that a national gathering should be announced immediately.
“They say they will start ward conventions next month. There is no point in talking about unity now,” Basnet said. “We should announce it today itself and then start building the party. Arbitrary sister organizations have been formed across the country, so we should quickly form parallel organizations. We should bring everyone forward, including women and students.”
The decision by the two factions to observe BP Koirala Memorial Day separately has fueled speculation that the NC is on the verge of a formal split.
A meeting of the anti-establishment faction chaired by former acting party president Khadka on July 18 had decided to organize a separate event to mark the memorial day. The meeting, held at the faction’s liaison office in Chundevi, had formed a committee under the leadership of former vice president Prakash Man Singh to organize the event.
The meeting had also decided to convene a national gathering this month. However, dates for the gathering have not been finalized yet.
NC leaders say the party has been pushed to the brink of a split by disagreements over whether to hold a regular or special general convention.
The anti-establishment faction has accused the establishment side of presenting itself differently in practice despite agreeing in informal discussions to work toward party unity.
The faction has also put forward a five-point proposal to the establishment faction as part of efforts to reunify the party. The proposals include giving the Central Working Committee led by Gagan Thapa a complete shape by merging the two committees formed by the 14th general convention and the special general convention; forming a Central Work Exeuction Committee with a majority of members close to the party president; announcing the timeline for the 15th general convention at the first meeting of the reconstituted Central Working Committee; and automatically including members whose active membership disputes have already been resolved, while not making the renewal process a condition for updating active membership records.
