Kathmandu: Nepal’s ruling communist party executive chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” on Tuesday unilaterally convened a meeting of the powerful Standing Committee at Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s official residence without his presence, further deepening the political crisis in the country.
The crucial meeting of the 45-member Standing Committee of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) to iron out the differences between Prime Minister Oli and the rival faction led by Prachanda was scheduled for 11 am. However, it was postponed for the 9th time.
Announcing the indefinite postponement of the meeting, Standing Committee member Ganesh Shah said the two leaders need more time for informal consultations to sort out their differences.
Prime Minister’s press advisor Surya Thapa also said in a Facebook post that the meeting was postponed as the two leaders need some more time for consultations.
The date of the next meeting will be decided after the two leaders hold consultations, he said.
However, a senior party leader said Oli postponed the meeting without consulting Prachanda. The Prachanda-led group had already reached the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar at around 11 am and was waiting for Oli’s signal to start the meeting.
Standing Committee members close to Oli did not attend the unilateral meeting convened by Prachanda later in the afternoon, party leaders said.
The meeting, which started at around 3:00 pm, lasted for one hour, they said.
Around 25 Standing Committee members were present in the meeting, the Kathmandu Post reported.
On Wednesday last week, a Standing Committee meeting was briefly held at the Prime Minister’s official residence. However, the prime minister did not attend the meeting.
Subsequently, the party decided to convene another meeting a week later, on July 28, to review its activities, the government’s performance, finalising division of work among party’s cadres and leaders, and proposed general convention among other issues.
Meanwhile, amid the deepening rift in the party, NCP Vice Chairman Bam Dev Gautam floated a ‘middle path’ solution to resolve the conflict between Prime Minister Oli and Chairman Prachanda.
Gautam proposed that Oli be allowed to stay as prime minister for the remaining term of the House of Representatives (HoR), that is, two-and-a-half years, and chairman of the party until the unity general convention that Oli has proposed to hold by mid-December.
Similarly, Prachanda should be given the responsibility as the party’s Chairman with all executive powers until the unity general convention of the NCP is held. (PTI)