Both Oli and Nepal continue firing with their belligerence
KATHMANDU, JULY 31
The establishment faction of CPN- UML led by party Chair KP Sharma Oli and the rival faction led by Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal held talks to keep party unity intact, but Oli and Nepal continued to talk tough against each other.
As members of the dissolved task force were discussing party unity today, Oli said there was no space in the party for anti-communists and traitors such as Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Oli made these remarks at a programme organised by CPN-UML Kathmandu chapter when the Nepal-Khanal faction of the UML was bringing out a rally of Akhil Force in Kathmandu.
Oli said Nepal, who was the main reason behind the absence of 27 party lawmakers on May 10, the day when he, as prime minister, sought vote of confidence in the House of Representatives, should not be given space in the party.
Oli said Nepal not only dislodged his own party's government but also helped Sher Bahadur Deuba win the vote of confidence by mustering the support of 23 party lawmakers during Deuba's trust vote on July 18. Oli called the Deuba government 'rightist'.
According to a knowledgeable source, members of the dissolved task force went to meet Nepal, but the rival leader told them that he would neither accept the 10-point unity proposal prepared by the task force, nor would he accept Oli as the party chair.
Oli faction leader Subas Chandra Nembang who is Deputy Parliamentary Party leader told THT that the establishment faction had postponed the Standing Committee meeting today in an attempt to reconcile differences between the rival factions. Oli has said that he is ready to move the party ahead on the basis of the 10-point unity proposal.
Nembang said members of the Standing Committee, who were in the dissolved task force, would continue to hold unity talks but they were not in a position to wait endlessly.
"We have to hold our general convention on time and as we are going to contest local level elections in the period between mid-February and mid-March, we need to conclude the unity talks soon," Nembang said.
Meanwhile, Nepal addressed the Akhil Force programme here and warned Oli not to try to become the prime minister again through fraudulent means.
He said the Supreme Court decision to reinstate the HoR was a positive step to save the House and the constitution. Nepal said those lawmakers who voted in favour of Sher Bahadur Deuba during the trust vote expected the government to perform well.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 1 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
