KATHMANDU: Intra-party feuds have resurfaced in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) after Chairman and Prime Minister KP Oli vehemently accused India of trying to topple his government.
During the ongoing Standing Committee meeting of the party on Tuesday held at Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar, party leaders, including Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, senior leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal univocally said that they sought PM Oli’s resignation, not the southern neighbor.
“Your resignation was not sought by India, I have asked for it. You cannot rebuff the party’s rules and regulations,” said a standing committee member quoting the top-notch leaders telling the prime minister.
“You say that India demanded your resignation. No, I have asked you to quit both as PM and party Chairman in the past as well as now,” the leaders told PM Oli.
Sources said that Prachanda and PM Oli were engaged in a heated discussion.
Prachanda told the meeting that everyone should understand that the task of retaining or removing the Prime Minister would be done from within the party.
Prachanda even accused Oli of tarnishing the party’s image by speaking out against India.
“You have tarnished the image of the party by speaking against India. International relations cannot be balanced by fighting with India,” said Prachanda.
In response, Prime Minister Oli questioned how exactly what was said at the party meeting was carried out by Indian media, sources said.
“How exactly did our meeting and what was reported in the Indian media match? There should be a serious discussion about this as well,” Oli countered Prachanda.
After that, Prachanda said that he had demanded Oli to quit both as a prime minister and party Chairman not India.
Prime Minister Oli, had last week, blamed India for trying to topple his government and that ploys were being hatched against him.
Dubbing the issue as ‘serious’, Dahal, Nepal and Khanal said the party needs serious discussion.
“Since these allegations have come from a Prime Minister, it has some gravity,” a standing committee member quoted the three senior leaders as saying.
PM Oli’s remarks accusing India of hatching conspiracy to topple his government had drawn wide criticism and confusion among the general public.
PM Oli had said it would be a day-dream to even think of ousting him simply because he took a bold step to issue a revised map that angered India.
“I have come to know that meetings and seminars were being organized in India against Nepal’s decision to amend the constitution by incorporating the revised map in the coat of arms,” he had said.
“That, however, will not make a difference,” he had said at a program at the PM’s official residence in Baluwatar on Sunday.
“It’s still fresh in my mind that I was toppled when I signed transit agreement with China,” PM Oli had said, adding, “But we enjoy a majority now and toppling my government is not that easy.”
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