KATHMANDU: While an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Sushila Karki was underway at Singha Durbar on Monday, CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli visited Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba at his residence in Maharajgunj, making the political timing of the meeting significant.
Oli sent UML Secretary Mahesh Basnet, elected from the party’s 11th general convention, to represent the party at the Singha Durbar meeting, a move seen as a political message in itself. UML General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel was seen accompanying Oli during the Maharajgunj visit.
The meeting between the two top leaders comes at a time when a majority of lawmakers from the Nepali Congress and the UML — 139 in total — have already filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court seeking the restoration of the House of Representatives dissolved on September 12. The Oli–Deuba meeting is therefore being viewed as politically meaningful.
By sending Basnet, who has been vocal and aggressive against the Gen-Z movement, to the Singha Durbar meeting, Oli is understood to have signaled that the current government, which he says has crossed its limits, is not in a position to conduct elections slated for March 5, 2026.
Speaking at the Singha Durbar meeting, Basnet said those injured during the Gen-Z movement on September 8 are yet to receive proper treatment, while uncertainty still surrounds the reconstruction of government and private structures vandalized on September 9. “Are we supposed to go to elections while watching burned structures stand unattended?” he asked.
Sharing his personal experience, Basnet said his own house was set on fire during the unrest, forcing him to live in a rented house. “Should I go for election campaigning while looking at my burned home? Is it possible to hold elections when state structures remain destroyed?” he questioned.
As Basnet was making strong remarks against the government at Singha Durbar, Deuba and Oli were holding talks in Maharajgunj. Both the Nepali Congress and the UML have publicly positioned themselves in favor of restoring Parliament and moving the country forward through constitutional amendment.
The two leaders had previously met on Mangsir 19, when they had reached an understanding that the political process should move toward parliamentary restoration. Shortly after that meeting, Deuba sent eight Congress lawmakers to file a writ petition at the Supreme Court. On Monday alone, 68 Congress lawmakers are set to approach the apex court.
With 68 lawmakers from the Congress, 78 from the UML, and additional support from parties including LSP, more than 145 former lawmakers are heading to the Supreme Court with signatures in favor of restoring the House of Representatives, further intensifying pressure on the government amid ongoing political uncertainty.
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