National
NC ready for conventions despite possible disruption
Preparations for the village and municipal conventions of the Nepali Congress scheduled for Friday are in full swing in various Tarai districts despite possible obstruction by the protesting Madhes-based parties.Preparations for the village and municipal conventions of the Nepali Congress scheduled for Friday are in full swing in various Tarai districts despite possible obstruction by the protesting Madhes-based parties.
NC leaders and activists are busy garnering support for their favourites’ election in the district leadership. Election representatives deployed by the centre have reached the districts.
The election committees, however, are worried about possible disruption from
the agitating Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) which has announced to disrupt the political programmes of three major parties in the plains.
The SLMM has hinted at disrupting the NC’s village and municipal conventions in some districts including Saptari, Dhanusha and Bara. In Morang, however, the protesting Tarai parties have pledged not to foil the convention in the district.
In Janakpur, the SLMM took out a protest rally on Thursday on the eve of the NC convention. Morcha cadres demonstrated in front of the NC district party office in Janakpur-4. They also took out a rally in front of lawmaker Chandra Mohan Yadav’s house in Sapahi, threatening him to leave the district.
Sanjaya Kumar Singh, Dhanusha chairman of the Sadbhawana Party, said the SLMM had taken out protests throughout the district as per their strategy to foil the NC conventions.
“Madhesi Morcha activists misbehaved with me while I was entering the party office,” said lawmaker and NC former Dhanusha president Smriti Narayan Chaudhary.
In Saptari, the SLMM has warned in a statement that it would not let the NC, CPN-UML and the UCPN (Maoist) hold any programme in the district.
“Some NC friends have urged us not to disrupt their programme. But we have informed them that we cannot reconsider our set programmes,” said Saptari Chairman of Rastriya Madhes Samajbadi Party Gajendra Mandal.
(With inputs from our district correspondents)
Sujata vies for party chief
Nepali Congress central member Sujata Koirala has announced that she will run for the party president in the upcoming general convention. During a press meet organised by the Morang Chapter of Nepal Press Union in Biratnagar on Thursday, Koirala said she had decided to file her candidacy to give the party new direction. She also claimed that NC President Sushil Koirala would help her to be elected as the party chief. “I have talked to Sushil Da. He’s positive about my decision,” she said.