According to Oli neither his nor Dahal’s proposals were valid as both did not have each other’s consent

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 5

The Secretariat of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) failed to take a call on the 19- page proposal registered by party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and another Co-chair KP Sharma Oli’s 38-page rebuttal and decided to send the proposals to the party’s Standing Committee for discussion and resolution of the intra-party feud.

The NCP Standing Committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow will discuss the two proposals.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who had not attended the Secretariat meeting on December 2, attended today’s meeting.

Dahal met PM Oli before the Secretariat meeting and urged him to attend the meeting and abide by the Secretariat committee’s decision to protect the interests of the party, according to a source close to Dahal. The source said the PM was not willing to attend today’s Secretariat meeting, but decided to attend the meeting after Dahal met him.

The Oli faction has been saying that instead of discussing the two proposals sub-judice before the party Secretariat, a joint proposal should be prepared with the consent of both Oli and Dahal.

According to Deputy Parliamentary Party Leader of NCP Subas Chandra Nembang, the PM was opposed to other Secretariat members’ decision to send the two proposals to the Standing Committee for discussion.

PM Oli told the Secretariat meeting that Dahal’s proposal was not a valid proposal because as per party rules any proposal could be prepared only with the consent of two co-chairpersons’ consent and he had not consented to Dahal’s proposal. PM Oli also said that his document was merely a rebuttal of Dahal’s 19 page document and it was also not a valid proposal.

However, Madhav Kumar Nepal and other influential leaders say the two co-chairpersons’ consent will not be enough to end the crisis in the party.

NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha told media persons today after the Secretariat meeting that the meeting decided to send the proposals sub-judice before it to the Standing Committee for discussion and resolution of issues facing the party.

He said the two co-chairs had discussed issues before the Secretariat meeting today, but neither were they expected to resolve the issues nor did they succeed in their attempt today.

Shrestha further said the top leaders would continue to hold informal and formal meetings, including meetings of the party Secretariat while the Standing Committee would discuss the issues, and try to resolve them.

Intra-party feud has deepened in the NCP after Dahal presented a 19-page proposal accusing PM Oli of failing to govern the country, disobeying party rules and decisions and making unilateral decisions on appointments in the constitutional bodies.

Oli, on the other hand, presented his 38-page proposal accusing Dahal of promoting factionalism, showing lust for power and having double standard on the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement signed with the United States.

NCP Standing Committee member Yubaraj Gyawali called today’s decision of the party Secretariat positive and significant as it showed that consent of the two co-chairpersons alone would not suffice in resolving issues in the party.

“We have a tradition of running our party in an organised manner. Party committees take decisions and leaders and cadres follow them,” he said and added that the Standing Committee would now take an independent decision on the proposals after discussing all the issues thoroughly. According to Gyawali, the Standing Committee could decide on the basis of majority or go for a compromise if the deal ensured a win-win formula for both factions.

“Everybody is worried about a party split, so a compromise cannot be ruled out, but that should ensure a win-win formula for both sides,” he added.

Dahal’s faction is in majority in all party bodies.