Kathmandu: A crucial meeting of Nepal’s ruling communist party to decide the political future of embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was postponed until Monday to allow more time for the top leadership to iron out their differences over his style of functioning and anti-India statements.
The meeting of the Nepal Communist Party’s 45-member powerful Standing Committee was scheduled to be held on Saturday at 11 AM local time.
But it was postponed at the last minute. Prime Minister’s press advisor Surya Thapa said the meeting was postponed until Monday as the top leaders of the NCP required more time to forge an understanding on the outstanding issues.
“The Standing Committee meeting has been postponed until 11 AM Monday as both the chairs needed time for further discussions,” said Bishnu Sapkota, the press advisor to Prachanda said separately.
The much-publicised meeting was supposed to begin at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar to find a way out from the ongoing intra-party crisis which is dragging the ruling communist party close to a split.
Earlier, the Standing Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday was also postponed as the senior leaders required more time for talks before formally sitting down for the meeting.
The informal meeting between Prime Minister Oli and NCP executive chairman Prachanda on Friday as the last-minute attempt to rescue the party from possible catastrophe failed to reach any headway.
During Friday’s informal meeting, the two leaders reviewed the overall situation, including party unity and ways to rescue the party from the present crisis, senior leader Ganesh Shah told PTI. They also discussed the agenda to be put forth for discussion during the upcoming Standing Committee meeting, he said.
During their Friday talks, Prachanda reiterated his position that Oli should step down but the latter refused, saying he was open to discuss any other issue, except for his resignation, The Kathmandu Post reported.
“I won’t resign from both the positions. Do whatever you can,” Oli told Dahal, according to Raghuji Pant, a Standing Committee member.
On Friday, Oli and Prachanda failed whether to follow the May 16, 2018 agreement or the November 20, 2019 understanding reached between them. (PTI)
