KATHMANDU, APRIL 4

The faction of the ruling CPN- UML led by Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal formed Kathmandu district chapter of the party today ignoring the threat of punitive action by the establishment faction led by party Chair and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Basanta Manandhar was named the chairperson of the Nepal-Khanal faction's Kathmandu district chapter.

Addressing the programme organised to form the Kathmandu district chapter here today, Nepal said his faction was committed to making the party a revolutionary and dynamic outfit and it was truly committed to the welfare of the people and the country.

'We are moving in the right direction. Oli may issue threats to leaders and cadres, but don't be intimidated,' Nepal said.

Nepal said his faction would reorganise the communist movement by bringing together fringe communist parties.

Nepal said Oli could not tolerate opposition within the party and did not abide by majority decisions. He said Oli had promised to offer premiership to CPN-MC when he led the government the first time, but when the time came to hand over power to CPN-MC, he reneged upon his word, prompting the CPN- MC to forge alliance with the Nepali Congress. Nepal said even in 2019, the PM promised premiership to Pushpa Kamal Dahal, but he refused to transfer power when the time came..

Nepal said his faction had three options vis-à-vis Oli - to surrender before him, to renounce politics, or to protest Oli's wrong moves. He said his faction would choose the third option. 'We will protest against Oli's wrong deeds to make our party a dynamic outfit,' he added.

He alleged that Oli had conspired to defeat him and Bamdev Gautam in the last general election.

Talking about the recently inaugurated roads from Kathmandu, Nepal said the PM inaugurated the roads without the necessary preparation for starting the projects.

Senior CPN-UML leader Jhalanath Khanal also spoke in the party, saying that their faction had the right ideology and strategies to achieve its political goals.

Oli recently suspended Nepal, Surendra Prasad Pandey, Bhim Bahadur Rawal, and Ghanashyam Bhusal from the party for six months for indulging in factionalism and anti-party activities. The PM had threatened to take further punitive action against them if they did not mend their ways. But the threat seems to have little effect on Nepal.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 5, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.