KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 2

Spokesperson for the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Narayan Kaji Shrestha has confirmed that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli did tell party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal that he could not withstand the challenge posed to him within the party and would rather split the party on friendly terms.

Shrestha said Dahal told him and some other leaders of the party that Oli was intent on splitting the party on friendly terms. Dahal briefed Shrestha and some other members of the NCP Secretariat yesterday about his meeting with Oli on Saturday.

According to Shrestha, the PM talked to Dahal yesterday over the phone and threatened to ‘take another big step’ if Karnali Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi reshuffled the Cabinet as was rumoured.

According to Shrestha, Dahal told the PM that he was not for splitting the party and all issues should be discussed in party bodies, but Oli refused to call party bodies’ meeting and abide by the party’s decisions.

Shrestha said he and other leaders told Dahal that all efforts should be made to protect party unity in order to ‘expand the political change in the socio-economic sector and to achieve the goals of socio-economic transformation and socialism.

He said party leaders also urged Dahal to hold dialogue once again with the PM to protect party unity.

Shrestha said party unity would be protected if all party leaders abided by party rules and norms and decisions of the party’s bodies.

“We may have differences on matters of some policies and organisational issues, but if we abide by party rules and decisions that would resolve the crisis,” Shrestha said.

He added that the party should now focus on holding the General Convention.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is close to Oli, today wrote on Twitter that factional interests of party leaders were to blame for taking the party to the brink of split.

The former defence minister urged party cadres to rise against those who were trying to split the party for personal interests.

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