UMl's Representatives Council concludes ruling out left unity
The ruling CPN (UML) concluded its two-day National Convention Representatives Council in Lalitpur on Monday. Organized on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Nepal Communist Party, the two-day jamboree discussed the policy reports presented by party chairman KP Sharma Oli and party general secretary Shankar Pokharel.
In the reports, the two leaders emphasized democratising the party structures.
In the convention held at Sunrise Hall, Godavari, Lalitpur, over 2400 delegates from across the country participated. However, UML leader Bhim Rawal boycotted the gathering citing that he was not invited. Likewise, when top leaders of all political parties attended the ceremony organised to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the communist party after concluding the assembly, in which former President Bidya Devi Bhandari was honoured, chairman of CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar did boycott the event as he opposed the felicitation of Bhandari.
Dominated by chairman Oli, the delegates discussed the reports without making any negative comments on them.
However, Oli said that the UML has succeeded in overcoming the effect of the party split. Interestingly, the National Convention Representatives Council decided not to unify the communist parties in haste.
Even Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who has been stressing the need for unity among the communist parties, while speaking at the anniversary event organised by the UML, said that there was no need to make any haste to unify the communist forces. However, he stressed the need for unity among the left parties.
The unity and cooperation among the communist parties of Nepal is necessary and the communist leaders should be ready even to take risks for that,” Prime Minister Dahal said. “We must take a risk for the unity of the communist parties, for national integrity and for the future of the communists. And we are on that path.”
Oli looked more cautious about making announcements about communist unity. “If the communist leaders express their desire for party unity not long after the split, a question will immediately be raised as to why we had split earlier,” Oli said. On April 20, while presenting his political report at the meeting, Oli expressed his reluctance to endorse the agenda of communist unity. Oli preferred alliance among like-minded forces over left polarisation.
“Cooperation among likeminded parties is what we need,” Oli’s political report read. “But it is neither necessary nor beneficial to have polarisation of the communist or the socialist forces.”
Oli, however, didn’t rule out unity among like-minded forces. “As cooperation between the parties deepens and an environment of trust is built, those like-minded parties gradually can come together,” he said.
Oli repeated the same message on communist unity on Monday. “This is not a time for communist unity; rather we need to join hands with other parties too,” he said. “People who are talking about the possibility of communist unity immediately are doing so just for their selfsatisfaction.”
The National Convention Representatives Council of UML has clearly sent a message that unification of the communist forces was impossible in the near future.