Kathmandu. KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress general secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma has proposed that the party should move ahead by making timely revisions on its statute, working style and programme.

Presenting the contemporary political proposal in the closed session of the party as part of the special general convention of the party being held at Bhrikutimandap on the initiative of general secretaries Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Gagan Kumar Thapa, Sharma said the statute should be amended to make the organization inclusive, youth-friendly and effective.

Stating that a new provision related to representation has been proposed in the party statute, General Secretary Sharma proposed to ensure the representation of 40 youths in the central committee including 20 below 30 years and 20 youths above 40 years of age. He also said that 10 members of each age group should be made in the provincial working committee. According to him, a minimum of 6 representatives each in the working committees of the district, federal electoral constituency, provincial assembly and local level and at least 4 representatives each in the ward working committee will be included. It has also been proposed to have at least two women and at least one below 30 years of age representing the central and provincial general conventions from each constituency.

General Secretary Sharma’s proposal states that a new arrangement should be made regarding appropriate lateral entry process to attract intellectual and professional people to the party. Likewise, an international structure of Nepali Janasamparka Samiti would be formed to enhance coordination and effectiveness among Nepalis living abroad. Similarly, the present and former chairs of the Nepali Janasamparka Committee from each country shall be members of the International Council. The Council has proposed to form a 27-member International Public Relations Committee from among the former presidents.

The committee will have a chairperson, one woman vice-president and general secretary each, one open vice-president, two open general secretaries, one woman joint general secretary and one open joint general secretary from each continent. The treasurer will be nominated by the president.

It has been proposed that the delegates representing each country in the party’s general convention elect a central member from their respective continents as per the concept of ‘one continent, one central member’. The proposal also includes a special provision for the Middle East to elect a separate central member. It has also been proposed to ensure the participation of former migrant Nepalis through the statute amendment.

The proposal has been made for the participation of at least three persons including at least one woman in every level from ward to centre after spending more than a decade abroad and returning home with their families two years before the General Convention. Likewise, three members including at least one woman would be elected to the Province Working Committee from the representatives elected from the provincial electoral constituencies and three members including at least one woman would be elected to the Central Working Committee from among the representatives elected from the federal electoral constituencies.

Likewise, the proposal proposes to nominate three central members including at least one woman from among the representatives to represent the party in the general convention from the sister organisations. Practical methods have been pointed out to make the district and other working committees efficient and effective. On additional issues related to the statute, it has been proposed to formulate a fixed term of direct or proportional ÷representation, a provision of proportional representation for the last time, a directive on the performance of Nepali Congress people’s representatives and a social transformation leadership guideline.

Likewise, a proposal has been tabled to make provision for the office-bearers and members of the central working committee of the party to be elected from the lower committees of the party respectively during the general convention. General Secretary Sharma said that additional provisions could be made in the statute by revising it as per the suggestion of the special general convention.

The Nepali Congress has proposed to launch the campaign from climate awareness to entrepreneurship, giving priority to organizational restructuring, policy reforms and citizen-centric politics. Through the political document passed by the special general convention with clear determination to correct mistakes in the past, the NC has pledged to remain active in common issues of the society along with immediate, short-term and long-term strategy.

The special general convention has proposed a 10-point proposal with the objective of making the issues of concern of the entire society a political issue and dedicating itself to it. The NC has also claimed that it will be in constant touch with the citizens and will carry out politics that yields practical results. General Secretary Sharma’s proposal states that a campaign would be launched to spread awareness about environmental crisis by collaborating with the younger generation within and outside the party.

Likewise, the party’s State Administration Department, thematic experts and well-wishers would be made active to seek solution to the administrative dilly-dally. It is mentioned in the proposal that an awareness campaign will be launched against social anomalies. The women’s association, teachers-professors, press union and other departmental structures of the party will be linked to it. Similarly, a plan has been presented for insurance branding and effective public awareness and monitoring at the village level.

The proposal has given priority to contact, dialogue and problem resolution with the workers in the informal sector. In this, labor rights issues will be taken forward in collaboration with ‘trade unions’. A plan has been put forward to coordinate with youths, student and women organisations, local levels and administrations to launch youth campaign against drug abuse and to rehabilitate Nepalis who have returned from abroad in the country. For this, programmes will be brought in collaboration with the party, government and the concerned departments.

Likewise, commitment has been made to find a long-term solution to the problems of landless, unsystematic squatters and landless squatters and to work together between educational institutions and party structure for reforms in the education sector. General Secretary Sharma’s proposal has also included the issue of promoting employment and entrepreneurship by launching self-reliant enterprise campaign for party members.

General Secretary Sharma’s proposal presented at the special general convention has pledged to correct the political practices repeated in the past one and a half decades by accepting the serious mistakes. The Congress has proposed that no leader will become the Prime Minister more than twice. It has also been decided to take initiative to ensure this provision in the constitution. General Secretary Sharma’s proposal concludes that the repetition of the same leadership for a long time has increased dissatisfaction among the general public.

Acknowledging that hydropower, agriculture, physical infrastructure and private sectors have been affected due to policy-level instability, the NC will lead the country with policy-level assurances, the proposal reads. Concluding that the electoral alliance has affected the free conscience of the voters and the respect of the party members, the NC has proposed to contest alone in the upcoming elections.

It is stated that the concept of equitable development will be strictly implemented by controlling the tendency of spending more budget on the areas of influential leaders in budget making. It has also been proposed that a policy would be adopted to take forward any big project only after expert examination and parliamentary discussion as the risk of loan has increased while taking forward development projects on the basis of whims.

Admitting that the weak capital budget expenditure is a weakness of the government, the NC has proposed to adopt a policy of making legal provisions for infrastructure development in three shifts, stopping Asare development and clear work distribution among the three tiers of government. Likewise, NC General Secretary Sharma has proposed to lead the NC to correct the delay in facilitating the citizenship, voting rights and investment of Non-Resident Nepalis as per the order of the Constitution and the Supreme Court.

Admitting that lack of qualifications and character tests in political appointments has caused institutional damage, General Secretary Sharma has proposed a provision to implement dignified criteria along with special qualifications and criteria in the leadership election.

Accepting that the allocation in the appointment of universities, constitutional bodies and ambassadors was wrong, it has also committed to developing a merit-based representative selection system. Stating that the delay in the Education Bill has had a negative impact on the education sector, it was said that initiative would be taken to pass the bill in the first session of the parliament itself. Similarly, the policy will be taken to cancel the membership of students close to the party who are involved in such activities, declaring that the use of muscle force in educational places would be unacceptable. It has been proposed that the party membership would be automatically cancelled if it is found involved in social anomalies such as caste-based discrimination, domestic violence and child labour.

Among the issues mentioned in his proposal are developing a common vision by collaborating with the Nepal Trade Union Congress to resolve the problems of workers in the informal sector, ending nepotism in people’s representatives, gradually implementing the ‘primary’ election system in selection of candidates and forming an internal good governance commission for good governance monitoring in the party.

In the proposal presented by NC General Secretary Sharma, the party has stressed the need of ‘rebuilding’ and ‘rebranding’ and has expected the support of all Nepalis in the journey of goodwill, good governance and prosperity. Presenting the proposal, General Secretary Sharma expressed the commitment that the NC would change itself as per the changing times.