Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma has defended performance of general secretaries including himself and Gagan Thapa.
In an interview with Setopati, Sharma has pointed that the general secretaries have their own limitations. "We are bus assistants of Congress party, president is the driver. What are the limitations of bus assistants in a vehicle? It is our duty to do that much," he has stated. "Have we done enough of that? No. We are now making attempts. We are doing in an organized manner. We will self-criticize and self-review about our weaknesses."
Sharma has also denied that he and Thapa have allied with an understanding of one among them attempting to become party president and the other the prime minister (PM). He has added that they are currently together on the issue of transforming NC, leading the society, and enhancing democracy.
"This does not mean we don't have any differences. We differ on some things. I sometimes think he speaks in haste. I even tell Gagan. I told him on the issue of parliamentary party leader, that he need not have spoken about that now. I may say that we can suddenly carry that out in the style of guerillas on the day it needs to be changed. He may disagree on that.
"It does not necessarily have to mean that we agree on everything. But both Gagan Thapa and I worked together in student politics, and central committee. I have to be humble, listen and act mature as far as possible, as I am a few years older."
He has conceded that there are all kinds of people in NC and they all have their own opinions which they expressed during the recent central committee meeting. "Congress is like a common forum in context of many things. But how should one understand NC in essence? It should be understood not in different opinions but in decisions. What comes in decision is common."
Many leaders slammed the party leadership for failing to save leader Bal Krishna Khand, who has been arrested in the fake Bhutanese refugees scam, during the meeting. The party also failed to suspend Khand sending a message that NC is a pro-corruption party. But Sharma has refuted that and pointed that the party did not take any official decision to defend Khand, and neither the president nor the two general secretaries defended Khand.
He instead took a dig at the main opposition CPN-UML that suspended Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, who was also arrested in the same case, but later took to the well of the House accusing the government of trying to implicate innocent persons. "I won't say what they did was right or wrong. It is the court that takes action against corruption across the world. One should not stand on the rostrum of the House or party meeting in a way that affects the investigations carried out by the state, and the judicial process going on in the court."
