Kathmandu. Former president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), Shesh Ghale, is currently very busy. After the Supreme Court gave him the responsibility of organizing the association's unity convention as the chairman of the high-level committee, he has been working day and night to organize the convention in Kathmandu on May 3-5, 2025. But some members of his own committee have started saying that the convention will not be possible in May. Here is an edited excerpt of an interview with Dr. Jagan Karki in this regard:
How are the preparations for the NRNA unity convention to be held in Kathmandu on May 3-5, 2025?
Preparations are underway at a rapid pace. The date of the convention has been announced long ago. I am also chairing the main organizing committee. Hundreds of NRNAs scattered around the world are participating in it. Work is being done by forming their different sub-committees. Sub-committees including financial are working. I am also participating in those sub-committees. I am 200 percent confident that the convention will take place.
But the Badri KC faction has also scheduled another convention in October, is that in accordance with the statute?
It has been about 10-11 months since the Supreme Court's verdict. Even now, friends who understand the NRNA issue in our community are saying the same thing. As the coordinator of the high-level committee, I have moved forward with a lot of understanding on this issue. I was waiting for the necessary letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to implement the verdict. On October 23, a letter was sent to 13 of us in the high-level committee asking us to implement the Supreme Court's verdict with a copy. One of the orders mentioned in parts A, B, and C of the Supreme Court's verdict says, 'Convene the first meeting of the high-level committee within 1 month from the date of receipt of the letter.' Following that order, I called the first meeting as the coordinator on November 19. That meeting was locked from the NRNA building, which was asked to be held physically. After that, we held the meeting at Nepal House. The meeting was successful. Since the Supreme Court has directed to hold a convention within six months of the first meeting of the high-level committee, our work will end on May 18 accordingly. After that, there will be no high-level committee. A new working committee will be formed from the general convention to be held in Kathmandu on May 3-5. The election committee formed by the high-level committee will administer the oath to the working committee. After that, we will leave.
The former chairpersons are publicly saying that the date of the general convention should be postponed. What is the problem with postponing the convention?
The general convention cannot be postponed beyond the date set by the high-level committee. We have also discussed many legal issues. The Foreign Minister has worked for coordination and facilitation. The role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the NRNA is to facilitate. All 13 people in the high-level committee were called for discussion in the ministry itself. During the discussion on whether the date can be postponed or not, it was concluded that it cannot be postponed beyond May because postponing it beyond May would be defamation of the Supreme Court. The activities being carried out by some friends in the high-level committee are beyond the legal norms. I do not want to go into details on those matters. My focus is not on what anyone has done. That is a matter for the court. If any group or individual engages in other activities while the current work is in progress, that is their personal matter. I know Badri KC only as a member of the high-level committee. The high-level committee is a committee formed when Kumar Pant was the chairman. The Supreme Court has expanded the committee by adding more members to make it unified and free from disputes. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also recognizes only one NRNA. Similarly, NCC does not need to be included here. Because NCC is an organization registered in the respective country. This organization has been subjected to a ‘top down approach’ for 22 years. ICC is dominating NCCs. ICC is not separate. The real one is NCC. Organizations registered in Nepal say that we are present in 80-90 countries of the world. I feel sad when I hear that. That is why I am trying to explain this reality. I will be very happy if I can explain this to even a few people.
There are only two weeks left to apply for membership. How to apply for membership by March 31?
It would have been easy if we had access to the MIS system, but unfortunately we have not got that access. Now it is like we are working in a jungle. That is why we have created a high-level committee portal. We have called on 7 million NRNs around the world to apply for or renew their membership. You can fill out the membership form in 5 minutes by visiting www.nrnahlc.com. Those who have legal membership in the MIS system will only need to give us delegates. Since we do not have access to MIS, we had to create a separate website.
How are delegates selected for the general convention?
All registered NRN members coming to Kathmandu can vote. Now we have made it easy. The Supreme Court has said in its judgment that there is a problem with membership and for that, the membership dispute should be resolved. According to the judgment, three things need to be addressed to make it dispute-free. After a long time, we came to the conclusion that this is a ‘membership-based’ organization. Therefore, we have discussed how to empower members and have made arrangements to allow everyone to participate, that is, those who have become members can directly participate in the central convention and vote. We will implement this not only in this year's special general convention but also in the coming days in this organization. For that, this convention is also making a statute and this provision will be made in that statute. If this happens, the problem of delegates will also be solved. Similarly, we have also decided to make arrangements for physical presence and voting. We have only taken the essence of the NRNA statute until the Supreme Court's decision. We are on a campaign to make it more democratic by making a new statute. If the new committee takes the initiative to make the NCCs more transparent, it will also explain their status well and make everyone realize that they are autonomous.
You have been saying that this general convention is an opportunity to democratize the organization and also draft a new constitution. Could you clarify this a little?
What I think is that this is indeed democratization because many slogans, many efforts were made to institutionalize it. But it did not happen. It went towards regressive instead of top-down and progressive. I had seen this problem since I was the president of this organization, since 2013-2014. Others had also seen it. Re-branding is also necessary, we are not going to do that. The new working committee will do it. This is a big organization, it can be made even bigger. I have spent a lot of time, trying to understand. I have kept a perspective for the next 50 years, 100 years.
You are coming to the UK next week? Could you tell me something about the purpose of your visit to the UK?
The UK is very important in terms of the Nepali diaspora. The community there is very important. I always get inspired when I come to the UK. What is the mandate of the High-Level Committee? I will tell my friends what we are trying to do. Even if I can explain it to a hundred friends, that will be a great achievement for me. I will also be going to Europe for a week-long visit.
Finally, what is your message to NRNs around the world?
My message is that you should go to the High Level Committee website and understand. I have always kept the NRNA front and center. I am the same person I was in 2013. I have no personal or business interests. What I am saying is that you friends do not have to worry too much. It is just that the general meeting of an organization could not be held. What is the benefit of talking negatively and engaging in groupism? Our bottom line is how to contribute to the social and economic development of Nepal. There is a big challenge of how to engage the second generation. We should also pay attention to that. As the chairperson of the High Level Committee, I have been given the responsibility, I am giving myself time to try for two to four months and see if something happens.
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