Khanal ‘unhappy’ with party’s new hierarchy

KATHMANDU, May 21: Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Jhala Nath Khanal said that he is disappointed with the new hierarchy of the leaders in the newly formed party.

“I am not happy with the rank distribution,” Khanal vented ire, who has been demoted to fourth rank in the party.

“I have been placed below Madhav Kumar Nepal, which is not acceptable,” he added.

Following the merger, NCP made changes in the seating arrangement in the House in terms of seniority. Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ held the seat of party’s senior most leader, taking the number one seat and leading the newly formed party, while leader Nepal sat next to him. Khanal ranked second in the party hierarchy  in the erstwhile CPN-UML.

“I will talk with the chairs K P Sharma Oli and Dahal about the new party hierarchy today,” said Khanal adding, “I smell conspiracy here.”

Khanal also expressed his dissatisfaction over the party unification announcement in his absence. Khanal was in China when the two largest communist parties of Nepal, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) announced their historic merger last week.

“I had told Chair Oli a day before I went to China. But they didn’t consult with me about the unification,” said Khanal who was also a member of the party unification coordination committee. He said that he had been to China for health checkup.

Various sources have claimed that leaders Ishwor Pokhrel and Bhim Rawal are also unhappy with the leadership management in the new party.