Chief political advisor to the Prime Minister (PM) Bishnu Rimal has said the seven remaining secretariat members of ruling CPN have a big role to take a decision on the reports presented by Chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
The two chairmen have presented separate reports in the secretariat meeting making scathing attacks on each other. "The role of seven remaining secretariat members is paramount after the two separate documents arrived," Rimal told Setopati in a video interview. "The reports may reach the standing committee if the seven also toe the factional line saying one of the two should be finished. We will then discuss it in the standing committee. The secretariat should make efforts to resolve the disputes that arose there itself," Rimal, who is also a standing committee member, said.
He rued that PM Oli has been painted a failure even when he has been working for 18 hours a day. "The people have given us everything. There is no room for us to complain about the people who have given us two-third majority," he stated. "It is not that the PM doesn't want to work. We have a PM who works for 18 hours a day right from the morning till late in the night. But our own party has been holding him back. This must end now."
He opined that Dahal must provide an outlet now that Oli has said that Dahal's report is not worth discussing. He pointed that PM has said the language must be changed to move forward in a friendly manner and there is no need for discussion if Dahal opts to go for an all-out war.
Oli is in minority in all the party committees and even in the parliamentary party in all likelihood. But his advisor Rimal argued that party unification was done in the spirit of consensus and not on the basis of majority-minority.
The two chairmen have resorted to making formal allegations against each other in the secretariat meeting.
Oli challenged fellow Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to legally prove corruption allegations or apologize for the allegations or be ready to face punishment if he doesn't apologize.
Oli stated in his response that criminal allegations cannot be discussed politically and said the party should adopt legal way for criminal accusations. He added that the criminal allegations should either be proved or there should be apology on that or Dahal should face punishment for groundless allegations if he doesn't apologize.
Oli also accused Dahal of nepotism in his response to Dahal's political proposal that he presented to the secretariat meeting Saturday afternoon. "There is nepotism in you. Making daughter-in-law minister, daughter mayor and nephew ambassador is not socialism," Oli's report accuses.
Dahal had presented a 19-page proposal with consent of the majority of secretariat members during the secretariat meeting on November 13 criticizing CPN Chairman and Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli and slamming him for failing to properly run both the government and the party. He has also made corruption allegations against Oli in the proposal.
Oli has announced end of past agreements and understanding with fellow Dahal after the proposal and those in the Oli camp have been demanding withdrawal of the proposal.
Oli demanded time to respond to the political proposal submitted by Dahal during the last secretariat meeting on November 18. He claimed that Dahal's proposal has baselessly made serious allegations against him and he will have to respond to that with preparations.
The meeting, therefore, decided to give him 10 days to draft the response. Oli presented his response in the secretariat meeting on November 28 and the secretariat members were given time until today to study both Dahal's proposal and Oli's response.
The party has also called standing committee meeting five days later and central committee meeting another seven days later.
The ruling party is again facing a grave crisis with Dahal claiming that PM Oli has proposed to split the ruling party even as Oli is in minority in parliamentary party, secretariat, standing committee and central committee.
Dahal, Khanal, Nepal and Shrestha have been together in the fight against Oli all the time while Gautam keeps on changing camps. Gautam is angry with Oli now after he was not inducted in the Cabinet in the latest Cabinet reshuffle.
Sources close to Oli, however, have claimed that Dahal has demanded the post of PM.
Dahal is reportedly aggrieved about the Karnali dispute, Cabinet reshuffle, Oli's meeting with Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Samant Kumar Goel, murder of a party cadre in Parsa and other issues.
Oli and Dahal had signed a five-point agreement at the time of unification of the then CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) on May 17, 2018. The two parties had unified to form CPN the next day on the basis of the five-point agreement.
The fourth point of the agreement mentioned that the two chairmen will lead the government as necessary on the basis of equality and equal period.
But Dahal had relinquished his claim for the post of PM after the two chairmen signed an agreement on division of responsibilities in presence of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on November 20, 2019.
Dahal was made chairman with executive rights. Oli and Dahal were to remain chairmen, and Oli to continue to be ranked top but Oli had handed over the executive rights to Dahal.
Dahal was to lead the party and chair party meetings while Oli would lead the government through the current term of House of Representatives, according to the agreement.
The party was then on the verge of split with Dahal aggrieved that Oli continues to run even the party unilaterally and the overwhelming majority of members during the last standing committee meeting seeking resignation of PM Oli.
The two chairmen then formed a six-strong task force in August to resolve internal dispute in the party. The standing committee meeting then took decision on the basis of the report submitted by the task force that recommended that Oli would serve the full five-year term as PM and Dahal would take the wheel of the party.
Dahal was to be fully active in party works but required to consult PM Oli who will remain a sort of ceremonial chairman. Similarly, PM Oli was required to move the government works forward consulting Dahal.
But Oli has unilaterally made appointments of ambassadors and reshuffled Cabinet without endorsement of Dahal since the standing committee decision.
