KATHMANDU, July 1: In a rare and pointed critique, senior Nepali Congress leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala raised serious concerns about the party's direction, alliance strategy, and organizational decay.
Speaking with conviction, Nepali Congress senior leader Dr. Koirala, who leads the rival faction in the party, accused the party president Sher Bahadur Deuba's leadership of lacking clarity and transparency in critical decision-making processes—particularly in forging political alliances.
He was addressing the Nepli Congress Central Working Committee, which sat after nine months in the party office at Sanepa on June 30
“In 2079 BS, we joined hands with the Maoist Center. Today, we are governing with the UML. What changed in such a short span? Why did the Nepali Congress hand over the reins of leadership to the UML?” he questioned sharply. “If this alliance is truly aimed at amending the constitution, then where in the seven-point agreement is that mentioned? The president owes the party a clear and convincing explanation.”
Dr. Koirala didn’t stop there. He lamented the alarming dysfunction within the party’s sister organizations, including the Nepal Student Union, Tarun Dal, Women’s Association, and Dalit Association—all of which, he said, have slipped into inertia and internal conflict.
“The Nepal Student Union and Tarun Dal can’t even hold their conventions—largely because the central leadership has failed to act,” he remarked. “The Women’s Association remains paralyzed without a proper membership renewal process. And who gave the green light to dissolve 42 district committees of the Dalit Association? Who is accountable for that?”
He also drew attention to a troubling incident in Ilam, where a man reportedly assaulted a woman during a Women’s Association program. “What message are we sending to our members and the public when such events go unanswered?” he asked, his tone laced with concern.
Addressing personal criticisms, Dr. Koirala clarified that his silence was not weakness, but a conscious choice to preserve party unity. “I deliberately stayed away from factional politics and power-sharing deals. I believed in unity above all,” he said. “But I can no longer remain silent. My patience, my restraint—sadly, they were mistaken for weakness.”
With these remarks, Dr. Koirala has drawn a line in the sand—calling not just for introspection, but for decisive action to restore integrity, structure, and clarity within the Nepali Congress.
People's News Monitoring Service