By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 14: Talks between the two chairmen of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, made a significant headway on Thursday afternoon. After an interval of nine days, the two chairmen sat for talks to resolve the ongoing differences within the party.
It is expected that today’s meeting will be instrumental to narrow down the differences the senior most leaders have on a number of issues. However, what exactly the chairmen discussed in today’s meeting was not made public.
After the meeting, party general secretary Bishnu Poudel said that the meeting between the two chairmen ended positively, and the meeting would continue on Friday. He said that he was hopeful that the differences surfaced in the party would be resolved.
Likewise, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s press advisor Surya Thapa said that it was positive that the leaders held a meeting a after a long gap. “Hope, the meeting of Friday will reach a conclusion,” he added.
Today’s meeting has concluded on a positive note and with the spirit to continue dialogue and discussion for agreement, according to the personal secretariat of both the chairmen. The meeting, which kicked off at 11:15 in the morning, lasted for four hours, informed Bishnu Sapkota, press advisor to chairman Prachanda.
Chairman Prachanda reached the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar to meet PM Oli, he added.
Sapkota said, “The meeting has made a significant headway and this is a positive development to bridge the differences between the two chairmen. Both the chairmen have become ready to end the intra-party feud in the upcoming meeting.”
Bishnu Poudel, General Secretary of the party, and Standing Committee members Shanker Pokharel and Janardan Sharma ‘Pravakar’ were also present in the meeting, Prime Minister Oli’s media coordinator Ram Sharan Bajgain said.
Personal Secretariat of the chairmen informed that though the leaders were close to consensus, no concrete agreement was reached.
The meeting was held a day after PM Oli in a television interview had said that the ongoing intra-party feud would be settled down within five days. The party leaders are also hopeful of an agreement between the two sides within the next few days.
Amid the deepening differences between the party top brass, the two leaders of the NCP had met on August 4. However, they failed to make any headway in the meeting.
The NCP’s Standing Committee meeting was first called for June 24 to resolve the ongoing intra-party rift but it was deferred for the seventh time.