Deuba Faction Expels NC General Secretaries Thapa, Sharma for Five Years

The establishment faction of Nepali Congress, led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, has taken disciplinary action against two general secretaries and a joint general secretary for organising and participating in a the party’s Special General Convention, deepening the party’s internal split.

A meeting of the party’s Central Working Committee, held on Wednesday at the Nepali Congress office in Sanepa, decided to bar General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, and Joint General Secretary Farmullah Mansur, from even ordinary party membership for five years. The committee said the action was taken for calling and attending a Special General Convention at Bhrikutimandap without official approval.

The meeting also rejected the special convention and called on other leaders who participated in it to return to their previous party responsibilities.

Despite the disciplinary action, the rival faction led by Thapa and Sharma has continued the Special General Convention at Bhrikutimandap, where the process of selecting new office-bearers is underway. The convention nominated Thapa as party president, while Sharma and Pradip Paudel have been proposed for the two general secretary positions.

The decision by the Deuba faction followed the failure of repeated talks between establishment-camp leaders and the rival group.

After the disciplinary action was announced, cadres of the rival faction chanted slogans against Deuba and staged demonstrations at the special convention venue. Organisers at the convention rejected the establishment faction’s decision, saying it had no legitimacy.

Addressing the gathering, Thapa said he trusted constitutional bodies to recognise the outcome of the convention. “I have faith in all institutions, including the Election Commission. The Commission will recognise the result that comes through due process with the participation of a majority of general convention representatives,” he said. “I trust the Constitution. The Nepali Congress is not anyone’s private company where people can be expelled at will.”

Ajay Babu Shivakoti, a leader supporting the special convention, said in a statement that the convention hall had rejected what he called the “so-called expulsion decision,” urging party members not to be distracted by what he described as propaganda. He said the leadership endorsed by the special convention would be the party’s legitimate leadership.