Oli raises a host of issues and questions Dahal’s role in relation to them

KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 28

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today presented a 38-page long rebuttal to party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s 19- page proposal saying Dahal’s proposal had led to a serious crisis in the party as it was a kind of informal announcement of party split.

Oli accused Dahal of hatching plot to dislodge his government, promoting factionalism, applying double standard on the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement, not denouncing the Netra Bikram Chand-led group’s violent activities, ditching coalition partner Nepali Congress and sending people to tear ballots to ensure his daughter’s victory at the local level.

Oli stated that Dahal had turned the party’s internal dissent into antagonistic contradiction, which had led to serious crisis in the communist movement.

He stated that although Dahal’s proposal did not hold any legal and political status, he deemed it necessary to counter the proposal as leaving the serious and misleading allegations unanswered would harm the communist movement, the country and the people.

Party rules mandated that a proposal could be prepared only on the basis of consultation with the party co-chair and general secretary but Dahal had presented the proposal without consulting him and the general secretary, Oli argued.

“Therefore, this proposal is a compilation of your personal dissatisfactions, endless grudges and selfish agenda,”

Oli said in his rebuttal.

He said Dahal’s proposal had enthused those forces that wanted to foster political instability.

Oli said as Dahal had levelled criminal allegations he should prove them and take action against him as per the law and party statute if those allegations proved valid or else Dahal should take responsibility for making false allegations against him.

He asked Dahal why the consensus reached on 15 May 2012 about framing the new constitution on the basis of consensus was breached and why he ignored other parties’ request to extend the tenure of the Constituent Assembly.

Oli accused Dahal of resorting to the ‘shameful act’ of tearing ballot papers to ensure the electoral victory of his daughter (Renu). He said unity between the CPN-UML and the CPN-MC happened after Dahal had reached a stage where he could forge alliance with the Nepali Congress and eventually dissolve his party or look for a new political possibility.

“Today you are trying to make your own party lawmakers sign a no-trust motion petition that you want to register against your own government,” Oli said.

He said Dahal had not stuck to the understanding reached with the former CPN-UML even for 24 hours to fight elections with the Sun symbol, as a result of which hundreds of thousands of votes that could have given the CPN-UML twothirds majority were invalidated. He stated that Dahal did not agree to give the Cabinet full shape until he reached agreement on having in place two co-chairs who would become prime minister for halfterm each during the five-year tenure of the government.

Oli said Dahal had revealed during his India visit that there was agreement the two cochairs would become prime minister turn wise during the five-year term. “Doesn’t this undermine national independence, interest and stability? You have entangled issues with the friendly country and assured them that you will resolve those issues after you come to power. Now you are talking about majority and minority in the party bodies. If that is the case, then let’s change the basis of party unity.

Are you ready to elect the party leadership from the General Convention on the basis of competition? I am ready. In all party bodies, former CPN- UML leaders and cadres are in majority. What will happen if I decide to use that majority against you?” Oli asked.

He said he had no objection to the decision taken last year that said he would focus on the government and Dahal would work as executive chairperson of the party. “I am still committed to the September 11 consensus reached on the basis of the six-member task force. It is not possible to seek the consensus of all leaders in all appointments and to reshuffle the Cabinet.

The government and the prime minister cannot be tied by the party statute,” Oli said in his rebuttal.

The PM asked Dahal how much progress he, as executive chairman, had made on work related to party unity and other assigned tasks.

“Why are attempts being made to change the leadership when a new leadership is going to be elected through the General Convention in four months?” He wondered.

Oli asked party leaders who repeatedly led the party and the government to pledge that they would not seek the same role now so that party leadership could be handed over to the new generation. “I am ready for it. Are you?” He asked. He said the government had launched many pro-poor schemes and it was wrong to term it neo-liberalist. Oli also said the government’s policies were socialism-oriented, hence benefits of socialist government should not be sought now. He said land owned by Nepal Trust was being leased out to increase government revenue. He asked Dahal why he was objecting to the leasing of Nepal Trust land. “Are you objecting to it just because the interests of any businessperson close to you has not been fulfilled?” He wondered.

He stated that people had been linking Dahal to some corruption cases. Stating that Nepal had incorporated Limpiyadhura, Lipu Lekh and Kalapani in its map, the PM said Nepal would establish its sovereignty over all land east of the Mahakali River. He said Nepal and India had started to sit at the negotiating table to resolve boundary issues after a period of some ups and downs.

Responding to Dahal’s allegation about the Millennium Challenge Coroporation project, Oli said the project was signed with the US when Dahal was prime minister. “How can the person who signed the project be a nationalist and the person who thinks the project signed on behalf of Nepal should be implemented be against national interest?” He wondered. Oli stated that meaningless pseudo-nationalist debate on the MCC project’s cross border transmission line component would only make Nepal dependent on others. “If Nepal has made a mistake by making high voltage cross border transmission line, then Nepal has already made a mistake by building the Muzzafarpur–Dhalkebar transmission line,” he argued.

Oli asked Dahal to make his stance on MCC clear or else cheap politics on issues linked with the country’s credibility could cost the country dearly.

He said he was making honest efforts to bring issues related to transitional justice to a conclusion. “You had said you would take responsibility for the murder of 5,000 people.

What does this mean? Such statements can only entangle issues. Don’t make the mistake of playing with this issue,” he warned.

Oli clarified he had said lower government bodies were organs of the state, not units of the federal government. He also wondered why Dahal had not condemned the violence of the Netra Bikram Chand-led group and added he would not tolerate violence in the name of anything. He also said Dahal had not been condemning extreme thinking linked with caste and regions.

Oli said he had raised the issue of people’s multiparty democracy which had helped the NCP reach this stage. “Should we not be clear about our ideology now?” He wondered.

Dahal is a step ahead of the opponent in unseating his own party government.

Oli urged the party to rescind Dahal’s document and return to the consensus reached in the party’s Standing Committee on September 11. The Standing Committee had decided on September 11 that the PM would have a free hand in governance and Dahal would work as executive chair of the party.

NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha said Oli’s rebuttal was a positive step which would help the party discuss issues in a comprehensive manner.