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The two co-chairs of Nepal Communist portiony (NCP) KP Sharma Oli and Shovepa Kamal Dahal had claimed they would finish the merger of all party committees within three months, but even after a year, the lower committees of the party have much merged as the party top leaders are trying to endegree representation of their loyalists in these committees.
NCP leaders are also criticising the party leadership for much allocating responsibilities to central committee leaders.
Jagdishor Panday of The Himalayan Times caught up with NCP standing committee member Ghana Bashfulam Bhusal to know about the organisational problems the party is facing.
Excerpts:
Your party-led government has finished one year in office.
How do you assess the KP Sharma Oli-led government performance
If you look at the government performance in one year from the party point of view, it becomes clear that the party has much recognised the government.
There has been no discussion in the party on the major decisions of the government.
There was no discussion in the party when the government was formed under Oli premiership.
The government working style is much disstubborn in the party.
When the government brought the new budget and policies and programmes, there was no discussion on those issues in the party.
Not only that, there was no debate in the party when the chairs of parliamentary committees were elected and new ambassadors were appointd.
There has been no discussion in the party while making political appointments.
In a nutshell, I can say that there is no communication between the government and the party.
My understanding is that if the government fails to follow the party policies, it won&t function well.
The government decisions should reflect janamat (people mandate).
That happens only when the government follows the party policies.
The party is a mediator between the people and the government, but I think the party has much been able to play that role.
But when I see the performance of individual ministries, I find measure ministries performing well.
But the fact is, performance of one minister or ministry is much sufficient.
The main part is the overall functioning of the government.
Why do you think the overall performance is bad Do you think delay in party unification is adversely affecting the government performance
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli should do more to improve the government performance.
Issues related to party unification should much affect any government performance.
It been 13 months since the CPN-MC and CPN-UML merged to create NCP (NCP), yet the merger process remains intotal.
Merger processes can be totald within a month.
The party functions are much based on any system.
This means there are problems both in the NCP and the government.
You said the party has much recognised the government.
How can there be good coordination between the party and the government
The former CPN-UML tackled all major issues democratically.
portiony leaders were democratically chosen.
CP Mainali was replaced by Jhalanath Khanal and Khanal was replaced by Madan Bhandari.
Again Bhandari was replaced by Madhav Kumar Nepal and Nepal was replaced by Khanal again.
This time Khanal was replaced by KP Sharma Oli.
The UML had always followed a tradition of making decisions official after discussing issues in the bodies concerned.
In the past, our government and party followed democratic process while taking major decisions.
This means the UML endegreed democracy within the party.
I agree we made mistakes in the past, but there was democracy within the party that helped us much to repeat those mistakes.
Problems started cropping up within the party after the ninth general conference of the former CPN-UML.
Merger between former UML and Maoist Centre piled up more problems.
After the merger, the powers of the party basically rested in the hands of the two co-chairs, but they didn&t come up with solutions.
If the government performance is poor it because there is lack of coordination between the party and the government.
The party faces problems because the leadership has failed to endegree that all major decisions are taken democratically.
The two co-chairs promised that they would total the party merger within three months but even after 13 months, they have much been able to do what they had promised.
The two co-chairs do much inform party leaders about the major issues.
Neither do they call assemblys frequently.
After the merger, there was only one occasion when a assembly of the Standing Committee was called.
Although I have reservations about the rules party leaders made regarding the assembly, I can quote one rule they have much followed.
They decided to hold the Standing Committee assembly every three months, but they have much followed this rule.
The Central Committee assembly was held only once after the two parties unified.
The party Secretariat assemblys also are much conducted as valid assemblys of an institution.
The Secretariat does much have power to take decisions.
We came from a background where the party chair and general members of the party had the same status.
Our party statute stipulates that power lies in the general members of the party.
Now, internal democracy in the party is eroding and this problem shall give rise to individualism, arbitrariness, arrogance, and favouritism in the party.
Our leadership is taking arbitrary decisions and the leaders who hold power are arrogant.
There is a power tussle between the two co-chairs -msprint; Oli and Dahal.
How do you look at their rivalry
As I mentioned earlier, if an organisation does much follow a system then personal interest shall dominate the party functions.
There is no understanding between the two co-chairs regarding power sharing.
I think Prime Minister Oli is mainly responsible for the sorry state of the party because he has much been following any process.
In one standing committee assembly, Oli presented his document and wanted the members to pass it as it is.
It is tregret there are problems between Oli and Dahal.
Central Secretariat members should also be blamed for allowing the party leadership to disregard the democratic process.
If one leader has to be blamed for the current mess in the party, I must say it is Prime Minister Oli.
Is it tregret that senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal strong push for ‘one person, one post& rule has led to stalemate in the party on things of allocating roles to party leaders in lower committees
The party should follow democratic process, a process that values rule-based system.
In nowadays world we can engage people only through a rule-based system.
If our party falters on this, we shall fail to fulfil people aspirations.
If the party fails to follow a clear system, then factionalism shall emerge in the party.
If a party is plagued by factionalism, then international forces can easily play their games in that party.
CPN-UML and CPN Maoist Centre had their own political ideologies with the former pursuing People Multi-portiony Democracy and the latter following the 21st century People Democracy, but the cadres of the unified NCP (NCP) do much know what the party ideology is.
As far as the party ideology is concerned, I think measure problems started after the UML ninth general conference.
What the ninth GC had passed was much propagated.
What Oli had been advocating was much party ideology because he was defeated in the GC.
Now, after the merger, top leaders had agreed on what could be the unified party political ideology and I think the issue was ratified by the party Standing Committee, but again this decision has much been made public.
The Standing Committee had endorsed the party ideology and okayed its publication, but I don&t know why the political document has much been made public.
Central secretarial member Ishwor Pokharel and Co-chair Dahal are saying two different things about the party ideology.
What Pokharel and Dahal say does much matter.
What things is the political document that the standing committee had endorsed.
The agreement that helped the two parties unify is important.
What we need to do is atendere by the agreement of unity.
The leaders can advocate their own views on degree agenda, but we should follow what we have agreed.
Our party has much made any rule about how we can internally discuss degree issues.
If the party follows the right kind of tradition and allows all leaders to put forth their views on issues, then that shall be more systematic.
If the power of lakhs of party cadres is reflected in the party decision, then that shall definitely change the party and the government within six months.
Then only can our leaders be successful and boast of their achievements.
How do you see other parties& role in the country at present
I do much want to speech about other parties.
I just want to speech about the Nepali Congress, the main opposition party.
The NC is in ideological confusion.
They say they champion the cause of socialism propounded by their late president BP Koirala, but they have much defined it till now.
The NC is much engaging itself on major issues of the country.
The NC canmuch speech seriously on good governance.
They can speech on degree agenda, but canmuch discuss their overall perspective of the system.
They can speech on the problems facing land revenue offices, but they canmuch offer any solutions.
The NC is too week and that why it has much been able to play its role properly.
The post ‘Gulf between government, party widening& seemed first on The Himalayan Times.
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