The Khanal-Nepal faction of ruling CPN-UML will withdraw no-confidence motions registered against chief ministers (CM) of Province 1 and Bagmati.
Leader of the faction Rachana Khadka told Setopati that a meeting of top leaders of the faction on Wednesday has decided to withdraw the no-confidence motion citing the changed scenario.
She revealed that signatures on the motion against Province 1 CM Sher Dhan Rai will be withdrawn while the motion itself will be taken back in Bagmati. This means the Rai government in Province 1 and Dor Mani Paudel government in Bagmati will not be toppled.
She added that the faction's demand for withdrawal of the decision of central committee meeting on March 12 where UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli unilaterally took away responsibilities of leaders of the faction and inducted Maoist leaders as central committee members remains.
UML earlier on Wednesday instructed its lawmakers who signed on the no-confidence motion against CM Rai to withdraw their signatures within a week.
The parliamentary party meeting of UML in Province 1 held for the first time after the Supreme Court invalidated unification of the then UML and CPN (Maoist Center) on March 7 gave the instruction, according to UML lawmaker Gopal Budhathoki.
The meeting on Wednesday passed parliamentary party statute and formed UML parliamentary board under the parliamentary party leader and including deputy parliamentary party leader, chief whip, whip and other lawmakers.
Lawmakers from Khanal-Nepal faction including Tulsi Neupane, Lila Ballabh Adhikari and others attended the meeting and stated that the no-confidence motion can be withdrawn.
"We boycotted the central committee meeting at the center as new central members were arbitrarily added violating the statute," Province 1 Incharge of the Khanal-Nepal faction Bhim Acharya told Setopati before the meeting. "But that will not happen in parliamentary party meeting. We will, therefore, attend."
He revealed that the faction will not boycott parliamentary party meeting even at the center.
Tanka Angbuhang, who recently joined UML quitting Maoist Center, also attended the parliamentary party meeting.
A total of 37 lawmakers of the then CPN had registered the no-confidence motion against CM Rai proposing Bhim Acharya as the next CM as intra-party dispute in the then CPN escalated after Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House on December 20. The 37 lawmakers included those elected on Maoist ticket and UML lawmakers from the Khanal-Nepal faction.
