KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress leader Gopalman Shrestha launched a blistering attack on party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, accusing him of repeated betrayal and sidelining loyal leaders.

Speaking during Sunday’s Central Working Committee meeting in Sanepa, Shrestha claimed he had been persistently marginalized despite decades of dedication to the party.

“Ganeshman Singh and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai were made to leave in tears. But I won’t leave like that—I will fight to the end,” he declared.

Shrestha revealed that Deuba and Arzu Rana Deuba had convinced him not to run for party president during the 14th General Convention by promising support in the 15th.

“He summoned me to Baluwatar and asked for my support. I trusted him. But when the time came, he abandoned me,” Shrestha said.

He expressed deep frustration over not being offered any formal role or recognition. “Everyone got something—Ram Chandra Paudel, Shashank Koirala, Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Bimalendra Nidhi, Bijay Gachhadar—but Gopalman didn’t even get a symbolic gesture. Not even a proposal for a senior leader post,” he lamented.

Shrestha also targeted party vice president Purna Bahadur Khadka, accusing him of actively undermining him, and cited unresolved complaints from the 2017 elections. “I filed complaints about betrayal in 75 districts. Only two were acted on—Tanahun and Kailali,” he said, referring to disciplinary action against Govinda Raj Joshi and Pushkar Nath Ojha.

He warned Deuba against treating veteran leaders as disposable. “Don’t treat me like a parent dumped in an old-age home. I’m not quitting. I’m here to stay and fight, even if I have to stand alone,” Shrestha thundered.

Shrestha also lambasted the party for failing to protect its own members in legal battles. “When Krishna Bahadur Mahara was convicted, the Maoists stood by him. UML defends its own too. But the Congress abandoned Bijay Gachhadar, Govinda Raj Joshi, and Khum Bahadur Khadka during corruption trials,” he said, accusing party leadership of cowardice.