KATHMANDU: Disgruntled leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) have reached prime minister’s official residence in Baluwatar on Sunday afternoon after consultation with President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, senior leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal, Vice Chairman Bam Dev Gautam have started talks with Prime Minister KP Oli.
General Secretary Bishnu Poudel, Standing Committee members Shankar Pokharel, Barshaman Pun and Janardan Sharma are also participating in talks, according to Prachanda’s Press aide Bishnu Sapkota.
Today’s meeting has been considered significant amid speculations that Prime Minister KP Oli is bringing an ordinance that would be easy for political parties for split by garnering 40 percent support from the party’s central committee or the parliamentary party.
It has been widely speculated that the NCP is currently heading closer to a split with both the factions led by Prime Minister KP Oli and Chairman Dahal ‘Prachanda’ showing no signs of flexibility.
Sources said that during the meeting, discussions will be held on PM Oli running the government without going beyond the party’s mandate as per an earlier agreement, forming a five-member task force comprising leaders including Nepal, Khanal and Gautam among others and changing some Cabinet ministers and Chief Ministers among other issues.
Sources say that the party will enter the phase of split if the meeting fails to resolve the issue.
The meeting of the two dissenting factions scheduled for Saturday could not take place as the top leaders, who were trying to find a way out by postponing the ongoing standing committee meeting from Thursday, were active in flexing muscles rather than resolving the dispute.
The prime minister during his meeting with ministers and ministers for state at his official residence in Baluwatar on Saturday had said attempts were made to file an impeachment motion against President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
He had also informed Cabinet ministers that he had decided to end the Parliament session after learning that party members were preparing to file an impeachment motion to oust the president.
According to a minister, the prime minister had said he was ready to make a decision if necessary.
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