RAJBIRAJ, JULY 8

The intra-party feud in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) seems to have trickled to the district level in Saptari as two different factions were at odds over holding a support rally in favour of the Prime Minister and party Co-chair KP Sharma Oli.

After a faction of the party led by party provincial member Sukharam Yadav and leaders Ashok Yadav, Akhilesh Jha and Durgananda Thakur prepared for a rally supporting PM Oli, other leaders and cadres reached the premises of the local Shiva temple to prevent the rally today. According to NCP leader Umesh Kumar Yadav, who is also a former minister, the rally stopped there.

“As some leaders and cadres were on their way to stage the demonstration unilaterally, without holding any discussion in the party and were not complying with party policy, we had to stop it,” said Yadav, who refused to acknowledge the programme as the party’s official programme given the absence of the district committee chair and secretary.

Meanwhile, Sukharam Yadav lamented the obstruction of a scheduled programme meant to protect the party. “The programme was not only meant to support the PM, but also to warn against any attempt to split the party. It is sad that the programme has been disturbed,” he argued.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 9, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.