Kathmandu, Dec 22: A meeting of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP)’s Central Committee members close to Executive Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal that was organized by the rival faction of the ruling party has decided to expel chairman and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli from the post of party chairman.
The meeting of the rival faction held at Babar Mahal in the capital on Tuesday decided to remove Oli from the post of party’ chairman as disciplinary action against the latter after an ‘unconstitutional’ dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Sunday, according to party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
Of the 446 Central Working Committee members of the party, 310 were present at the meeting.
The Oli-led faction also held its central committee meeting at the official residence of the prime minister in Baluwatar earlier today. The meeting named Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali as the party’s spokesperson, replacing Naryan Kaji Shrestha and fixed the date for the party’s ‘unity’ convention on November 18 next year.
During the meeting, Oli announced a 1,199-member Central Committee, adding 556 members to the existing 446-member committee of the ruling party— to organize the party’s general convention.
Nepal appointed new chair
Meanwhile, Prachanda-Nepal faction has decided to appoint NCP senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as its Chairman.
NCP spokesperson, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, informed after the meeting that 315 out of 447 central committee members were present in the meeting and that the meeting also decided to appoint Krishna Mahadur Mahara as the Standing Committee member.
He said that the meeting concluded that the meeting of the central committee members which was called by another NCP Chairman KP Sharma Oli, also Prime Minister, was just an attempt to slice away the NCP.
The NCP spokesperson said that NCP Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who is now appointed as another NCP Chairman, and senior leader Jhalanath Khanal urged all to stand firmly to consolidate party unity and foil all attempts to create a rift in it.
Shrestha said that the CC meeting removed KP Sharma Oli from the position of NCP Chairman as an action against him.
He said the CC meeting drew the conclusion that the House of Representatives (HoR) was dissolved using rights not given by the constitution, and that the move was autocratic, regressive and self-willed.
The meeting was held at a party palace at Babarmahal. The next CC meeting of the NCP will be held at the same place on December 24, according to Shrestha.
From Republica/The Rising Nepal
