KATHMANDU, JUNE 6

The Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal faction of the CPN-UML issued a 10-point proposal endorsed by its Standing Committee members calling on the party rank and file not to be fooled by party Chair and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's talks of unity and to focus on building the party organisation across the country from the ward level.

The faction refuted the rumour that the faction leaders would withdraw their signatures from the petition they jointly filed against the dissolution of the House of Representatives saying that such a move was necessary to counter PM Oli's arbitrary, unconstitutional and undemocratic activities.

The rival faction said in its document that PM Oli had been indulging in factionalism and the party rank and file should not be fooled by Oli's propaganda about party unity.

The faction urged the party's rank and file, including those aligned with PM Oli, to defend and develop the revolutionary communist party. The rival faction said that PM Oli would be considered favouring party unity only if he pledged to address its demands in a time-bound manner. One of the main demands of the Nepal-Khanal faction is to revive all party committees and structures that existed before the UML's merger with the CPN-Maoist Centre.

The faction said that Oli had removed 11 leaders from the central committee and had sought clarification from 12 more leaders, and he had been taking similar actions against rival faction leaders in all levels of party structures.

The faction said that if all kinds of disciplinary actions, including removal from the party, suspension and seeking explanation, were not revoked by the establishment faction, then the party rank and file should not be trapped by the establishment faction's fraudulent acts.

The Nepal-Khanal faction said the Oli government had failed to control COVID pandemic and provide relief to those affected. It said the government's plan to export river-borne materials for reducing the trade deficit with India was an anti-national move.

The rival faction also accused PM Oli of protecting people involved in corruption.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 7, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.