By Jibachh Yadav
Lahan, Feb. 28: Ram Avtar Sah, the owner of Lal Salam Tea Shop believes that the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) shouldn’t split under any circumstances and said he would do his best to keep the party unity intact. There are two tea stalls in the main junction of Lahan. Lal Salam Tea Shop at the eastern end and Jai Nepal Tea Stall at the western end.
These are not official names of both shops but they are popularly known as Lal Salam (red salute), a greeting used by communists and Jai Nepal, a greeting used by democrats.
Every morning and evening, there is a large crowd of the leaders affiliated with NCP at Lal Salam tea stall, while in Jai Nepal, there is a mass of Nepali Congress-backing leaders and cadres to have a cup of tea and join in the political conversation.
Both the tea shops are common platforms for the leaders of NCP and Nepali Congress respectively for political discussions.
According to locals, both these tea shops have played a vital role in the democratic movement of the country.
They informed that even before the party unification of erstwhile CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist (Centre), the central committee members of CPN-UML as well as the local leaders used to visit this tea shop to have tea and snacks.
Later, after the formation of the NCP by unifying the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist (Centre), a huge number of communist leaders started visiting the shop, said Sah. “After the formation of the NCP-led government, communist leaders used to visit my tea shop and exchange their happiness. When they used to talk about development and how the country will move towards prosperity I felt elated. But now local leaders and cadres are frustrated by the intra-party disputes within the NCP and so am I,” he shared.
Lately, Sah has been suggesting every single leader and cadre of NCP visiting his shop to keep the party intact.
“I have been suggesting every communist leader to take initiative for party unity. I believe that the NCP should be allowed to run the government for a full five-year term,” he said.
These days, when the leaders of the Prachanda-Nepal faction visit the shop for tea, the cadres of the Oli-led faction tend to shun it.
Worried about the party split, Sah has been urging leaders of the both the factions to stand together for the party unity. “What will happen to other areas, if the effect of party spilt is noticed even in tea shops? I have been complaining to the leaders that people are not happy with the activities taking place to split the party and toppling one’s own government,” said Sah.
He said he had been waiting for the cadres and leaders of the warring factions of NCP to visit his tea shop and talk cordially.
“If there is no unity in the NCP, the party will have to bear huge losses in the next election,” he said.
NCP-Lahan municipal committee chairperson Sachita Nanda Chaudhary said he would take an initiative to create an environment to make Lal Salam Tea Shop a common platform for NCP leaders and cadres to foster mutual understanding.
Recalling the past when senior NCP leaders like Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhal Nath Khanal, Subash Nembang and, long ago, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli visited his tea shop, Sah repeatedly requested the leaders to stand together for the betterment of the country and the people.