COMMENTARY
By Pushpa Raj Pradhan
As the KP Oli camp and Dahal-Nepal camp in the ruling Nepal Communist Party are firm on their previous stance, the deadlock in the party has prolonged.
By breaking the previous no-talking relations, since Sunday, party chairmen duo Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pushpakamal Dahal are meeting every day at Baluatar, however, the two leaders are unable to find a ground of common agreement.
A four-hour-long meeting at the presence of party’s senior leader JN Khanal and deputy leader of the NCP Parliamentarian Party Subhas Nembang on Sunday ended inclusively. Accordingly, on Monday and Tuesday also they held meetings.
To recall, the Dahal-Nepal camp has demanded Oli’s resignation from both the posts he is holding at present, whereas, Oli has denied quitting any of the posts.
Everyday Dahal is asking Oli to resume the standing committee meeting of the party, which has been one-sidedly postponed by the Oli camp and discuss on the Dahal-Nepal camp’s agenda.
Oli, on the other hand, had asked Dahal to resolve all the disputes from the party secretariat meeting.
After party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam’s middle-path formula, Oli’s side is in majority in the nine-member secretariat, however, in the standing committee meeting, the Oli camp is in minority.
Therefore, Oli has asked Dahal to finalize all the disputes from the party secretariat.
Oli has learnt to have clarified that he would not contest to the post of the party chairman in the unity national convention. It makes clear that Oli is going to keep up only one post in the party after the unity national convention. Oli has also agreed to call an early unity national convention of the party.
Gautam had floated a middle-path formula that Oli will continue as the party chairman until the unity national convention of the party. Oli would develop an environment to elect Dahal as the new party chairman from the unity national convention. Oli would continue as the prime minister until the end of the present tenure of the parliament.
The Dahal-Nepal camp, however, has not accepted Gautam’s middle-path agenda. Moreover, the Dahal-Nepal camp has no strength to oust Oli from party chairman and also from the prime minister’s posts as the party statute is silent on ousting or calling back its party chairman.
However, by demonstrating the majority of the Dahal-Nepal camp in the standing committee and party central committee, the Dahal-Nepal camp has planned to put moral pressure on Oli to quit both the posts.
Oli, on the other hand, has felt that after the publication of a new map by incorporating the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura territory, Indians have used Dahal and senior leader Madhav Nepal. Therefore, he is ready to face a ‘proxy’ war in the party.
Oli is not ready to bring into discussion the Dahal-Nepal agenda demanding his resignation. Even if the Dahal-Nepal camp one-sidedly calls the meeting and demand Oli’s resignation, Oli is not ready to obey the party decision.
Will the party split?
Both the camps have reached on the verge of a split in the party, so far, the leaders are not ready to take the blame for splitting the party. Therefore, both the sides are playing the strategy of making tired each other’s camp. The scheduled date for the party’s unity national convention in May next year is coming nearer, the ongoing dispute may continue until the national convention. Moreover, chances of a split of the party cannot be discarded if both the camps will make the present dispute as to their prestige.
On Tuesday, Oli expressed dissatisfaction with ruling party’s leaders at a consultation meeting of experts to take further strategy on fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Oli remarked that he was unable to get cooperation from his own party. He said that his own party-men are demanding for holding the party’s central committee meeting at a time when the government has issued a directive for not organising a gathering of more than 25 persons. Some are demanding the meeting of the standing committee, Oli said.
Meanwhile, party co-chairman Dahal and senior party leader JN Khanal on Tuesday meeting criticized Oli for assigning Sushil Bhatt, a controversial business agent as the CEO of the Investment Board Nepal. The Tuesday meeting organised for finding a common ground of agreement was ended after verbal discussion between Oli and Dahal on the issue of appointment of a controversial businessman.
Meanwhile, Dahal visited Gautam’s residence at Bhaisepaty on Monday for his return to the old Dahal-Nepal camp. Gautam, who has floated a middle path agenda for party unity, has learnt to have said to Dahal that his role is for the party unity.
To conclude, all is not good in the ruling party, however, the leaders have become indecisive on their upcoming move. So far, the achievement until now is that PM Oli and Dahal, from a no-talking relation, have reached to talking relations.
People’s Review Print Edition
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