KATHMANDU, Aug 3: Intra-party dispute in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has shown no sign of coming closer to an end even on Monday as Prime Minister K P Oli and Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal differ whether to call the party’s Secretariat meeting or the Standing Committee meeting to resolve the differences.
While Prime Minister Oli stood for calling the Secretariat meeting to resolve the differences, Chairman Dahal said that it would be inappropriate to call the Secretariat meeting as the Standing Committee meeting that was put off on July 28 is yet to be over. The meeting between the two top leaders of the NCP ended inconclusive as both the sides stood adamant in their demands.
Ahead of Saturday's Standing Committee meeting, Oli, Dahal hold...
Party insiders say Prime Minister Oli wants the Secretariat meeting to resolve the key issues of intra-party dispute as he now commands a majority in the nine-member body after Vice Chairman Gautam stood in his favor. Chairman Dahal, who is backed by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, believes that the Standing Committee could take decisions favorable to him as their faction commands a comfortable majority.
Sources said Dahal had proposed to continue the Standing Committee meeting as differences within the party surfaced when the Standing Committee meeting was underway. He had even proposed to reach agreement at the level of top leaders before convening the Secretariat meeting.
However, Prime Minister Oli, according to sources, said he was ready to call the Secretariat meeting to resolve the disputes seen in the party. As there was a difference between the two leaders whether to call the party’s Secretariat meeting or the Standing Committee, the meeting was put off again with an agreement to sit again on Tuesday.
Prime Minister was accompanied by his close confidante Subash Nembang, who has been working as a mediator to resolve the differences seen between Prime Minister Oli and Chairman Dahal after the latter sought resignation of Oli from both the posts of prime minister and the party’s chairman. Chairman Dahal had taken senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal along with him in the meeting.
The meeting between the two leaders on Sunday was put off as the almost three-hour long meeting on Sunday failed to resolve their differences. Party insiders said the two leaders have expedited discussions as per the proposal put forth earlier by the party’s Vice Chairman Bam Dev Gautam, who proposed allowing Oli to hold the post of prime minister until the remaining term of the House of Representatives (HoR) and act as Chairman along with Dahal until the party’s unity general convention is held.
