KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 25

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s decision to distribute printed copies of his 19-page proposal to lower chapters of the party has widened the rift in the party, with the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli faction objecting to the move and the Dahal faction defending it.

Prime Minister’s Press Adviser Surya Thapa said the rival faction’s decision violated the party’s norms and rules and would widen the gulf between the two factions.

Dahal’s personal aide Bishnu Sapkota said since party workers had been asking for copies of the document, the Secretariat printed copies of the document for those who sought it. “The Secretariat didn’t circulate the document among lower chapters of the party. Those who want the document can obtain its copies from the party Secretariat,” he said.

NCP Standing Committee member Yubaraj Gyawali, who is close to senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, said the document was given to party cadres for their perusal and not for intensifying debate on the issues at lower levels.

He said the document had already reached all nooks and corners of the country through media and there was nothing wrong in the Secretariat’s decision to distribute it officially through party channels.

In his proposal, Dahal has accused Oli of not honouring party rules and norms, inciting party lawmakers in Karnali Province to file a no-trust motion against Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi, unilaterally making appointments in constitutional bodies, and nominating ambassadors without consulting top party leaders.

Oli has termed Dahal’s proposal a document full of false allegations.

Gyawali said Oli would present his rebuttal to Dahal’s allegations in the next Secretariat meeting scheduled for Saturday and both the documents would be discussed. “Given the differences between the two factions, I do not think there will be consensus in the party Secretariat. So the issues could come to the Standing Committee for discussion and could even reach the Central Committee,” he said.

He added that if the differences between the two cochairs were not settled on the basis of consensus, they could be settled on the basis of majority.

In that case, Oli could engineer a split in the party as he is in minority in all the bodies of the party, fear NCP leaders.

Asked if the intra-party feud could be resolved on the basis of the Standing Committee’s September 11 decision, Gyawali said differences between the two factions were more serious and a new deal had to be reached to settle those issues.

“Allegations made against Oli in Dahal’s document are not new, but this time they have been listed in a document.

This means there will be serious debate in the party bodies,” he added.