The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the apex body of the Nepali private sector, has called executive committee meeting on June 22 to decide on convening its 53rd annual general meeting (AGM) which has become a subject of dispute between the rival factions within the organisation. A meeting of FNCCI’s office bearers held on Friday (June 5) ended without conclusion regarding the AGM. According to Umesh Lal Shrestha, vice president (commodity) of FNCCI, the executive committee meeting scheduled for June 22 will take necessary decision in this respect.

FNCCI’s leadership is facing a huge pressure from some executive committee members to hold the AGM by mid-July which has been postponed twice due to the lockdown and Covid-19 fears. However, another group within the committee has been opposing the idea saying that convening AGM at a time of crisis would relay negative message. A group comprising of FNCCI’s former president Chandi Raj Dhakal, Vice President (Commodity) Umesh Lal Shrestha, Vice President (Associate) Chandra Prasad Dhakal and Treasurer Nirak KC has been pressurizing the executive committee to convene the AGM within mid-July to elect a new leadership. Chandra Prasad Dhakal is one of the contenders for the post of Senior Vice President.

The AGM, which was originally scheduled for April 10-11 as per the statute of FNCCI, was postponed to May 20-21 due to the lockdown. But the meeting could not be organised despite the rescheduling because of extension of lockdown by the government. As per the organisation’s statute, the AGM needs to be held within three months after its postponement. The current dispute came after FNCCI’s President Bhawani Rana proposed to postpone the AGM for the next few months. Power politics in FNCCI has heated up in the recent months as rival factions have been strengthening their positions against each other for the forthcoming AGM.

Meanwhile, the meeting held on Friday passed a motion condemning a recent statement of former president and Distinguished Member Chandi Raj Dhakal in which he accused Bhawani Rana of ‘forgetting her past status’ and that its is because of his efforts that Rana enjoys her current position.