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Factional fight: UML to take Khanal to task in CC meet today

KATHMANDU, AUG 05 -
It’s official. Pressure from the majority of the CPN-UML’s Central Committee members has finally fixed two major points of agenda—disciplinary action against party Chairman and Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and the formation of a national consensus government. The issues will be taken up at the UML’s Central Committee (CC) meeting starting Saturday.

Party General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel confirmed on Friday that they had decided to take a call on the two crucial points through the CC meeting. The crux of both issues is to recall the prime minister.

The faction led by senior leaders KP Sharma Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal is prepared to unseat Khanal from party chief, prime minister and parliamentary party leader for what they call his failure to shoulder the given responsibility properly. The Khanal faction has, however, rubbished the charges and claimed that the bid will prove futile.

“Both the party’s disciplinary committee and the standing committee have concluded that the chairman violated the party’s decision not to reshuffle the Cabinet,” Pokharel said. “He was asked to quit, not to reshuffle the Cabinet.”

UML leaders close to the Oli-Nepal faction said the CC would demand action against Vice-Chairman Bam Dev Gautam as well for “provoking” the party chief to violate the party decisions. On Monday, Khanal had extended his Cabinet by inducting nine new Maoist ministers despite the party’s decision not to do so.    

The Oli-Nepal faction has concluded that Khanal’s move to build an ‘unholy’ alliance with the UCPN (Maoist) is one of his major faults and he must be punished for that.

The major issues the faction is set to raise in the CC include the ‘secret’ seven-point deal that Khanal signed with Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the decision to hand over the Home Ministry to the Maoists in utter disregard of the party’s decision and callous neglect of work for the formation of a national consensus government. The Khanal faction has said the issues that the rival faction is going to raise are irrelevant and against party statute. The prime minister will present the roadmap discussed by the Big Three parties and the president instead of responding to “irrelevant agenda of taking disciplinary action,” according to Minister for PMO Affairs Ghanshyam Bhusal. Khanal supporters say it will not be easy to remove an elected chairman immediately. Only a two-thirds majority of the National Representatives’ Council can propose changing the party chairman. The proposal will have to be endorsed by a two-thirds majority of a Special General Convention. The Council is slated to meet in the first week of September.

Posted on: 2011-08-06 08:47

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