Spread the love

By Our Reporter

Nepali Congress organised its Koshi Province Conference in Biratnagar. Inaugurated on Saturday, the conference was boycotted by NC leader  Shekhar Koirala over the dispute of hierarchy of the leaders in the party.

Koirala had contested the election of party president in the 14th general convention of the party and lost to Sher Bahadur Deuba. Traditionally, the leader who was a close rival in the election of the party president used to be given second rank in the Nepali Congress, but Koirala was denied the status. When he knew he would not be given the status, he boycotted the conference held in his hometown. Instead, he organised a meeting of the leaders close to him just a few days before the conference was to begin. In the conference Koirala organised, 113 of 137 local-level party presidents were present.

However, other leaders including Sashank Koirala and General Secretary Gagan Thapa attended the meeting while another general secretary Bishwo Prakash Sharma was in the Khumbu region and could not attend the gathering. 

Addressing the meeting, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba emphasised the need for the government to prioritise grants over foreign loans.

He noted that while Nepal had previously taken loans from institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for development purposes, further excessive borrowing would not be feasible. Referring to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Deuba remarked that the agreement was sensibly negotiated. He made these remarks to pacify the arguments against the BRI.

He also apprised the gathering of his decision to form a coalition government with the UML to maintain political stability. “I am confident that stability can be achieved when the two parties work together,” he said, hailing Prime Minister KP Sharma Olli’s efforts.

Nepali Congress Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka stressed the importance of amending the constitution to ensure prosperity while preserving its core principles.

Khadka also underlined the need for disciplined internal discussions, criticising the tendency of leaders to make negative comments publicly.

General Secretary Gagan Thapa described Pokhara Airport as a burden of unsustainable debt and called for a detailed review of development delays.

NC’s Treasurer Umesh Shrestha, Central member and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and others highlighted the need for a united and well-organised Congress to uphold democracy.