The task force formed for resolving the dispute in CPN-UML will discuss the draft prepared by Vice-Chairman Bhim Rawal and Deputy General Secretary Bishnu Paudel on Friday.
The meeting Thursday evening did not discuss the details as Finance Minister Paudel did not attend the meeting as he was attending the Cabinet meeting held at the same time.
UML Secretary Bhim Acharya, who is privy to the details of task force meetings, told Setopati that final preparations have been made to return the party to the state before unification with CPN (Maoist Center). "Our meetings have moved forward in a positive manner. Just final touch needs to be provided now. Rawal and Paudel have prepared draft," Acharya said.
He added that the draft can be approved after some changes. He claimed that most of the issues related to returning the party to the state before unification with Maoist Center have been agreed and pointed that other decisions can be taken by meeting of the central committee of that time. He revealed that the draft has been prepared in a way that management of the leaders who have joined the party quitting Maoist Center can be done by meeting of that central committee.
A party source confided that the two factions have yet to agree on the language to address the Supreme Court (SC) verdict expected to arrive on Monday. Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Senior Leader Madhav Kumar Nepal will together finalize the agreement if the task force agrees on the draft.
Some leaders in the Khanal-Nepal faction claim that the Oli camp has even proposed to make Nepal the second chairman for party unity but Acharya, who is close to Nepal, insisted that the issue has not been discussed in the task force.
"Keeping two chairmen will be fine but that is not our stand. We have already made our major stands public. But there are also views that this abnormal situation can be handled if there are two chairmen. The issue, however, has not entered the task force. It will be alright if the two agree on that. But we have only put our stands including returning the party to the state before unification with Maoist Center.," he elaborated.
Oli and Nepal held discussion Wednesday night as the task force neared conclusion. But the meeting failed to yield any result with both the leaders standing firm on their positions and Oli particularly asking Nepal to unconditionally leave the opposition alliance against him without talking about the demand of the Khanal-Nepal faction of returning the party to the state before unification with CPN (Maoist Center).
Subas Chandra Nembang, Bishnu Paudel, Pradeep Gyawali, Bishnu Rimal and Shankar Pokahrel represent the faction of Chairman KP Sharma Oli in the task force while the dissident Khanal-Nepal faction is represented by Bhim Rawal, Ghanashyam Bhusal, Bista, Raghuji Panta and Surendra Pandey.
Oli has already instructed the party lawmakers who signed in support of making Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba PM to withdraw their signatures, and Oli has said those not withdrawing the signature cannot remain in UML.
The Khanal-Nepal faction, in response, has already said that the signatures will not be withdrawn at any cost.
A total of 26 UML House of Representatives (HoR) members had signed in the letter that Deuba submitted to President Bidya Devi Bhandari to stake claim for the government as per Article 76(5) of the Constitution. Most of those lawmakers have also signed in the petition submitted by Deuba in the Supreme Court (SC) demanding that he be made PM.
Oli has instructed to take back those signatures.
UML recently dissolved the organizing committee for the 10th general convention. Oli had unilaterally dissolved the central committee and formed the organizing committee after the Supreme Court (SC) invalidated the party's unification with CPN (Maoist Center) restoring the parties to the state before unification.
Oli has taken action against leaders of the Khanal-Nepal faction through the organizing committee even as the dissident faction has been demanding that the party be restored to the state before unification with Maoist Center.
Oli was under pressure to revive the central committee after the SC recently ruled that the organizing committee cannot take long-term decisions like the central committee. The dissident faction has boycotted the central committee meetings called by Oli after reviving it adding it will return to the fold only after reaching concrete agreement.
The task force has been meeting to resolve the dispute.
