Kathmandu: A day after parading its newly-formed youth squad, Nepali Congress has differed its formal launch following strong opposition from the party`s leadership.
In a show of strength, the party`s 700-strong youth force `Tarun Dasta`, formed at the initiative of former home minister Khum Bahadur Khadka, paraded at Chautara, the district headquarters of Sindhupalchowk in the east of capital yesterday before being launched officially.
But the formal announcement did not come after party`s acting president Shushil Koirala warned that he would take disciplinary action against Khadka if the announcement was made.
Another party in the country, the CPN-UML also has its own youth squad called Youth Force that is meant to counter the Maoists` YCL.
Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist), the party of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal which heads the ruling 22-party alliance, already has its youth force to counter the Maoists` militant brigade.
The two major parties in the Terai plains bordering India have their own youth wings, who have been involved in violence and disruptions.
The Maoists, who claim to have one lakh YCL members spread across the country, have been asked by the political parties to dissolve the paramilitary structure of the YCL in a bid to push forward the stalled peace process.
Leaders of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML have failed to find a consensus to end the political standoff with the Maoist party over the implementation of the May 28 deal that opened the way to extend the term of the Parliament.
Even as the embattled Prime Minister has agreed to step down as part of an eleventh-hour deal, the ruling alliance has refused to give a time frame for his resignation.
The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, the two largest parties in the ruling coalition, have asked the Prime Minister not to resign unless the Maoists agree to a six-point agenda, including the integration of the former PLA combatants and the dissolution of the YCL.
PTI
