INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, July 25
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also a co-chair of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has thrown his weight
behind Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel in his bid to become chief of the Training Department of the
party.
Pokharel is a staunch supporter of people multi-party democracy propounded by late Madan Bhandari.
On the other hand, another
Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been trying to make party Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha the chief of the Training Department.
Leaders
representing former CPN-UML and erstwhile CPN-MC want to wrest control of this department as it plays a crucial role in indoctrinating party
cadres.
This department is important also because of the ongoing debate on whether to adopt PMPD or people democracy of 21st century
advocated by former CPN-MC is an issue the party will have to grapple with in the General Convention of the party
Whichever option is adopted will become the formal ideology of the NCP.
Lack of consensus between co-chairs Oli and Dahal over who should
lead the Training Department led to postponement of the NCP secretariat meeting planned for today
This meeting was supposed to take a final call on the 33 departments of the party, including the chiefs of those departments.
Spokesperson
Shrestha told THT that the scheduled meeting of the secretariat was postponed mainly because co-chairs did not have enough time to finalise
the meeting agenda and they also needed to attend a programme organised to mark the death anniversary of founder leader of Nepal Communist
Party Nara Bahadur Karmacharya
NCP leader Ghana Shyam Bhusal has also staked his claim for the post of late.
According to party sources, Oli and Dahal have held multiple
informal meetings recently to finalise the name of the chief of Training Department but have failed to forge consensus on a common
candidate.
&I have just evinced my interest for the Training Department,& Bhusal said and added that any leader who led the department would
have to advocate the party line irrespective of his/her personal views
He said a leader truly committed to the party ideology would, however, do his/her job more efficiently.
An NCP source said Oli would back
Pokharel for the post, but if he failed to secure his nomination, he could propose that both co-chairs lead the department.
The UML and
CPN-Maoist Centre merged last year to form NCP.
The source said some party leaders wanted to make former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal the
chief of Training Department, but since he was against PMPD in the fifth GC, there was slim chance Oli and leaders close to him would
support Khanal nomination.
A senior leader of the party said Oli was backing Pokharel because he deserved the post
&When Pokharel had to go underground to advance the cause of the communist party, Narayan Kaji Shrestha was associated with the NC,& the
source added.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gokul Baskota said the party could not ignore PMPD
At a weekly press conference in his office today, he said his party came thus far only on account of PMPD and it should continue to stick to
the ideology.
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