7 July 2020, Kathmandu
The ‘one-on-one’ talks between Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister KP Oli has begun at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar.
The meeting is aimed at narrowing down the differences that have escalated since the last two weeks between the two.
Chairman Dahal had earlier insisted ‘one-on-one’ talks to thrash out the disputes between the two that have escalated since the last two weeks.
The duo had decided to sit for another round of talks after the meeting between Oli and Dahal had ended in a positive note on Monday.
Meanwhile, party senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has not been involved in the meeting, which is an indication that senior leader Nepal will be left out yet again.
Senior leader Nepal and his aides are disappointed as they have not been involved in the talks. It is learned that NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha, too, is dissatisfied with the ‘one-on-one’ dialogue between the NCP top guns.
The two leaders are at loggerheads in the last few weeks over some serious issues, particularly after PM Oli alleged the dissident faction of dancing to the tunes of India to oust him.
The meeting held on Sunday — dubbed as ‘decisive’ – too, had ended inconclusively with both the leaders agreeing to hold another round of talks.
Meanwhile, the NCP’s Standing Committee meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday to give more time for Oli and Dahal for talks.
It should be noted that as many as 53 central committee members of the NCP on Sunday initiated a signature campaign in a bid to pressurize the party leadership to convene the party’s central committee meeting.
The members held a meeting on Zoom and discussed convening the meeting of the central committee to discuss and thrash out the internal disputes.
The central members took the initiatives to call the meeting at a time when the intra-party feud has touched a new height.
According to them, the meeting of the 441-member central committee will be more impactful than the 45-member Standing Committee.
According to the NCP statute, the leadership will have to call the meeting of the central committee if 25 percent, i.e., 110 members signed the document.
