Muster internal unity to bring country to light: Can NC deliver? (Commentary)

Krishna Sapkota / Kathmandu: Nepal’s largest and oldest political party, the Nepali Congress (NC) is presently standing at a crucial juncture of its history, in the lead up to its 13th General Convention.

The conclave scheduled for the first week of March mainly has two-pronged responsibilities; first to review party policy/programme and second to elect a new leadership. The fresh policy and leadership as an outcome of the general convention will bear great significance in reinvigorating the party life and more importantly in guiding the country back to the right track.

Nepali Congress is holding its general convention at a time when the country is reeling under a fragile situation with the chilling effect of the April 25 earthquake, dissent from some Madhes-centric parties on some provisions of the new constitution and their border points-based struggle and India’s unofficial blockade in the aftermath of the promulgation of the new constitution of Nepal.

The country is in dire need of effective implementation of the hard-earned new constitution along with meticulous reconstruction and rebuilding efforts to give respite to the people and bail the country out of the long-held transition and the protracted crisis. Equally pressing is to address ongoing Madhes unrest narrowing down the prevailing crisis of confidence between the state and Madhesi people.

With the context in place, the issue of leadership and policy of the influential political party holds much water to cut through the current standoffs and make headways for social, political and economic transformations. “Nepali Congress as a leader of all democratic movements of Nepal since 1951 has to shoulder up the responsibility to consolidate and improve democracy and reach out its fruits to the doorsteps of the people irrespective of any region”, says Dharmendra Jha, a noted journalist of Nepal.

Tarai-Madhes is the base and vote bank of the party so NC should address genuine political demands of current Madhes unrest which has raised three important issues – redefining nationality, enabling equity-based social justice with identity and participation and redrawing the political power balance, Jha added.

The party’s important political event is expected to come up with concrete policy perspective to connect the dots of national unity. “However, the party has not focused its ideological and policy debate on how to bring differing voices in one table and muster support in giving solution to national problems”, comments Himal Dutta Shrestha, an emerging youth leader of Nepali Congress. “The general convention which is taking place amidst the current national crisis and sensitivities should be established as the general convention of the people. It has to be engrossed for integrating Tarai, Himal and Pahad”, he says.

He expressed concern over the greater focus being laid in the upcoming convention on how to reach to the position from grassroots to central level, which, he says has relegated the important policy issues into backburner.

If preparations are something to go by, the general convention of the party, which spearheaded three historical people’s movement in 1951, 1990 and 2006 and recent epoch-making constitution-making and peace processes, does not look very optimistic. It has not made any serious homework to make the party statute in consistent with the new federal set-ups envisaged by the new constitution. It seems the party is not holding its internal election as per the new structural settings which may fail to impart new message to the cadres and the country.

Hence, NC should intensify its preparations on framing the solution-oriented statute which can help develop a clear national perspective to address the protracted national crisis and lead the democratic movement in a true sense. As political parties are the change agents and mediate many public and national affairs of the country, the largest party in the parliament should lay emphasis on developing its structure, base and policy to bring much-needed transformation to the country in every front.

Notwithstanding who assumes the new leadership of the party, the Nepali Congress should come up with internal unity to garner national strength for implementing the constitution ideally and bringing the country to light from darkness. RSS