The meeting decided to issue the white paper at the party´s national conclave scheduled for two days starting June 18. Around 500 party representatives from across the country will gather for the conclave.[break]
Chief of the party´s publicity department Pradeep Gyawali said the main objective in holding the conclave is to make the party´s positions in the changed context clear to party rank and file and set out the party´s course for the days ahead. "The party leadership will elucidate the role that our party played in the CA and the reasons behind the assembly´s failure," Gyawali told Republica.
According to him, the UML leaders will explain to party cadres through the white paper the crucial agenda items that the party lobbied hard for in the CA.
Central Committee member Yogesh Bhattarai said the leadership will concede through the white paper where they committed mistakes and float proposals explaining what could be the solutions in the days ahead.
The meeting also decided to invite opinions from party members at the grassroots on the major disputes in constitution writing and state restructuring. Before arriving in Kathmandu to attend the conclave, party chiefs in all 75 districts will hold local committee meetings and seek suggestions from members on the thorny issues such as system of governance, judicial and electoral systems and delineation and naming of federal provinces.
The opposition party also vowed to come up with programs to dispel "Maoist propaganda" holding the UML responsible for the CA failure and portraying it as a party against ethnic and indigenous communities. "The meeting decided to dispel Maoist propaganda and expose their ploy to capture state power through force," said Gyawali.
The UML´s all-powerful body, the Central Committee, sternly directed the party´s dissident leaders from Madhesi, ethnic and indigenous communities who have been lobbying for ethnicity-based federalism to put forth their differences and grievances through party mechanisms and not spit venom at the party leadership through media and at public forums.
Party Vice-chairman Ashok Rai, politburo members Prithivi Subba Gurung and Ram Chandra Jha, among other leaders from ethnic and indigenous communities, have publicly criticized the party leaders for their reluctance to adopt ethnicity-based federalism.
They did not attend the CC meeting on Saturday either. Rai has boycotted meetings of the Standing Committee, the politburo and the CC in the recent days.
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