KATHMANDU: The Standing Committee (SC) meeting of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) scheduled for 11 am today has been postponed for an indefinite period.

According to NCP sources, the SC meeting has been postponed to allow time for Prime Minister KP Oli and Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to narrow down differences and finalize agendas for the meeting in line with the Secretariat decision.

The SC has been deadlocked for a long time after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal could not resolve their differences on some thorny issues in the party.

The intra-party feud has deepened further after Dahal-Nepal camp started demanding Oli’s resignation.

On the other hand, Oli is adamant to not resign from both of his posts.

He seems to have a graceful exit by handing over the post through the upcoming general convention of the party.

With both the leaders remaining adamant not to budge an inch from their respective stances, several one-on-one meetings between the two heavyweights in the past ended inconclusively.

The SC meeting which started since June 24 has been postposed time and again after Oli’s resignation entered as an agenda in the meeting.

The dispute is primarily centered on whether Oli should resign from the post of chairman immediately or through the upcoming general convention in line with the statute of the party.

Senior leaders Jhala Nath Khanal, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha had urged Chairman Dahal not to postpone Tuesday’s SC meeting, suggesting the latter to sort out the issue through the meeting itself.

Even though Dahal-Nepal group was preparing not to stop the SC meeting, Oli group had said the SC meeting would take place only after Oli and Dahal strike deal on the disputed issue.