Bibeksheel Sajha Party is again on verge of split with Chairman Rabindra Mishra and Coordinator Milan Pandey calling separate meetings.
The two factions are holding separate central committee meetings on Thursday after failing to agree on the agenda for a single meeting of the party.
"Chairman has called central committee meeting to discuss about the current ideological debate, resulting stalemate and resolution of that," Bibeksheel Sajha Party Spokesperson Sharad Raj Pathak told Setopati. "Chairman and coordinator could not agree on the agenda of meeting despite repeated discussions. Chairman has called central committee meeting taking help of the prevailing practice and laws to end the current deadlock in the party."
Coordinator Pandey, from the erstwhile Bibeksheel Nepali, has called a separate meeting after Chairman Mishra, from the then Sajha Party, emailed central members to inform about the central committee meeting on Thursday pointing that the central committee meetings earlier were called with consent of both chairman and coordination on the agenda for the meeting.
"I have called for central committee meeting of Bibeksheel Sajha Party exercising the rights vested on central coordinator by clause 61(3) of the party statute as it does not seem appropriate to keep the party hostage to indecision for a long time as party chairman in his own words has 'changed course'," the email sent to central members by Pandey reads.
Pandey has called the virtual meeting on Thursday to pass working procedure for operation of meetings, endorsement of the draft statute submitted by the task force for statute after discussion, formation of justice and good governance commission, establishment of alternative school, contemporary political proposal about the ideological deviation seen in the party and future direction, general convention of unification among others.
Spokesperson Pathak said Pandey has arbitrarily called meeting on the same date setting the agenda on his own. "Coordinator has the right to operate the meeting but not call one," he claimed.
He pointed that Chairman Mishra has called the meeting after the majority of central members demanded end of the current impasse.
The current dispute in the party started after Mishra proposed abolition of federalism and a plebiscite on secularism publishing a lengthy piece titled 'Changing Course: Nation Above Notion' on July 26.
Pandey and other leaders including Ranju Darshana, Keshav Dahal and Rajendra Pangeni then brought another proposal for discussion pointing mainly at the need for strengthening republicanism, defense of secularism and reform in federalism.
The then Bibeksheel Nepali and Sajha Party had reunified on December 9, 2020 having unified and then split once before.
The parties had agreed to hold general convention of the unified party within six months but the unified party again looks set to split even before the general convention could be held.
Bibeksheel Sajha Party, formed after unification of Bibeksheel Nepali led by Ujjwal Thapa and Sajha Party by Rabindra Mishra, had split on January 11, 2019 following a simmering dispute between the two factions.
All was not well in the party that was formed after unification of the two parties on July 26, 2017. The Thapa faction was unhappy claiming that Mishra was leading the party unilaterally and promoting leaders of his faction.
