NCP Secretariat meeting begins amid escalated tension

KATHMANDU, April 29: The Secretariat meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party has begun in Baluwatar amid escalated tension within the party.

All nine Secretariat members have gathered at the Prime Minister’s official residence where the faction led by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and faction led by Madhav Kumar Nepal and Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal are showing their strength in the parliamentary party through collected signatures of their lawmakers. The meeting was decided after a discussion between Oli and Dahal on Tuesday.

The dispute boiled over after Oli pushed the ordinances related to Political Parties and Constitutional Council without prior consultation with the party, paving way for a party to split with 40 percent support from either the parliamentary party or the central committee.

Although Oli dropped the ordinances five days later following pressure, the push put his position in the party and premiership into a serious risk as it further widened the rift with Nepal faction.

Nepal, who has joined hands with Dahal, has insisted on one person one post policy demanding Oli to leave either the post of prime minister or chairmanship. Nepal faction has also warned Oli that he might lose the premiership if he does not submit to his demands.

But Oli is not ready of admit defeat easily announcing he is ready to face any challenge and is determined to prove his majority.

Leaders close to Oli faction has claimed that they have collected nearly 100 signatures to prove the prime minister’s strength in the party.

The meeting is expected to decide the Standing Committee meeting, which Oli has not agreed to.