KATHMANDU: The Standing Committee (SC) meeting of the CPN-UML, which was scheduled for 11 am today, has been delayed by four hours.

The meeting will take place at Tulsilal Memorial Foundation in Chyasal, Lalitpur, at 3 pm, said UML party office secretary Sher Bahadur Tamang.

According to sources, former disgruntled leaders, who had sided with leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, are taking part in the SC meeting.

UML Spokesperson Pradeep Gyawali said that the SC meeting will also see the participation of leaders with close ties to leader Madhav Kumar Nepal but haven’t joined his newly formed CPN Unified (Socialist) party.

These leaders of the so-called ‘neutral’ group, including the party vice-chairman Bhim Rawal, who had previously  sided with the Nepal-Khanal group, had held discussions with party Chairman KP Oli Monday.

An agreement was reached in Monday’s meeting to convene the SC meeting and to make the party consolidated and dynamic. They agreed to move ahead in accordance with the 10-point agreement formed to resolve the intra-party differences.

Earlier, Monday morning, leaders, including Asta Laxmi Shakya, Bhim Rawal, Ghanshyam Bhusal, Yogesh Bhattarai, Bhim Acharya, Surendra Pandey and Raghuji Panta, among others, reached UML Chairman KP Oli’s residence at Balkot, Bhaktapur, to urge the latter to address their concern related to the 10-point agreement prepared by the task force formed to resolve intra-party conflict.

UML spokesperson Gyawali said an agreement was reached in yesterday’s discussion to implement the 10-point deal and revive the party structurer that existed before May 16, 2018 and an SC meeting was convened accordingly for Tuesday. According to him, the SC meeting is also likely to appeal for unity, urging to halt the party registration process by the Nepal-Khanal faction.

Leaders meeting Oli Monday also had urged him to withdraw the action taken against 14 lawmakers, including leader Nepal.