The Nepali Congress leadership has come under withering attack from its own leaders at the ongoing central working committee meeting, which started on Monday in Lalitpur. The meeting is taking place after almost a year, although the party’s statute requires that it be held every two months.

Those speaking on Tuesday and Wednesday at the meeting, which was broadcast live on social media for the first time, criticised party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, two vice presidents Purna Bahadur Khadka and Dhan Raj Gurung as well as general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma.

The party’s province committee chiefs, who are ex-officio members of the central working committee, also criticised the leadership, accusing it of neglecting the provincial committees.

“If the party’s provincial committees are unnecessary, why not get rid of them?” Indra Bahadur Baniya, the chief of the Bagmati provincial committee said, after the general secretary presented the party’s calendar of events on Tuesday. “The calendar makes it seem as if we have no role in the party.”

“If the provincial committees are not necessary, then the party should focus on the local and the central committees, as questions are already being raised about the usefulness of provincial governance under the federal setup.”

Not only Indra Bahadur Baniya, the party’s Madhesh provincial committee chief Ram Krishna Baniya and Gandaki committee chief Shukra Raj Sharma, and Lumbini committee chief Ammar Singh Pun also criticised the party for rendering the provincial committees roleless.

“The centre [party headquarters] should stop ruling from Kathmandu,” said Sharma, “the party should be run as per the letter and spirit of the constitution and the Congress charter.”

The most irate central committee member in the meeting was Keshav Kumar Budhathoki. He denounced the party leadership for failing to take a position on the ongoing dispute over the naming of the ‘Koshi Province’. “It is getting difficult for Congress leaders and cadres to go to the people, who have been protesting for months demanding that the province be renamed on the basis of identity.”

“We have ignored the identity issue,” Budhathoki said. “We towed the line of CPN-UML’s KP Oli. Now the people have barred us from visiting villages after we voted in favour of the ‘Koshi’ name against the people’s will.”

Budhatokhi, who is considered close to senior Congress leader Krishna Prasad Situala, also questioned general secretaries Thapa and Sharma for their perceived silence on the Koshi issue.

Budhathoki also opposed the way Congress leader Uddhav Thapa was appointed chief minister of Koshi Province, saying that was illegal and against the spirit of the constitution. He also demanded that Situala, who is one of the architects of the present constitution, come clean and make public his stance on the disputed Koshi issue.

A sizable section of the public in the province reckon the politicians compromised on identity when they settled on its name.

Budhathoki, who is from Jhapa district and is seen as a critic of party general secretary Sharma, accused him of poor leadership saying that Congress organisation in Jhapa has gone haywire.

Leaders, especially those close to party president Deuba, came down heavily on the two general secretaries—Thapa and Sharma—while those loyal to the duo fiercely criticized Deuba for failing the party on multiple fronts.

Another member of the central committee, Nain Singh Mahar, complained that the party has been unable to function properly as office bearer positions in many committees have yet to be filled. He also said there is a serious lack of coordination between the party, government and parliament.

“Internal coordination is weak and there is a kind of syndicate of office bearers and central work execution committee members. The central committee has fallen into obscurity as a result.”

Mahat was of the view that Congress should not fight elections in alliance with other parties anymore.

“They claimed that the party would win a majority in the elections by joining forces with other parties, but we could not win many seats,” Mahar said.

Mahar also pointed out the danger of the narrative suggesting that Congress, as the largest party in the government, should shoulder most of the blame for poor governance.

Similarly, the arrest of Congress leader and former home minister Bal Krishna Khand in the Bhutanese refugee scam also figured prominently during the meeting. While central committee member Radha Ghale defended Khand claiming he was framed, another member Laxmi Khatiwada questioned why some Congress leaders visited Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha to thank him for arresting Khand.

Khand is now in judicial custody for his alleged role in the refugee scam. He was charged with helping forge documents and taking bribes from the racketeers. After Khand’s arrest, some Congress leaders had met and thanked Home Minister Shrestha for taking a strong stance against corruption.

Some leaders like Ram Hari Khatiwada said the party’s performance in Parliament was weak. “The party president hardly attends the House; both vice-presidents are ministers in the government so they also don’t get ample time to participate in House discussions. Also, the two general secretaries have not been attending House meetings regularly,” he said.

“The entire House is under the opposition control. Also, we have failed to dismantle factions in our party,” added Khatiwada.

He complained that the decision to livestream the meeting was a wrong idea because it prevents them from putting across their views frankly.

Khatiwada was of the view that the party should formulate its policies and programmes with the next 50 years in mind and not just the elections to be held after four years.

Nagina Yadav and Urmila Thapaliya asked the party leadership to increase the role and participation of women in the party. Govinda Shah, another CWC member, defended party president Deuba, arguing that just criticising him will not do the party any good.