By Arpana Adhikari
Kathmandu, Dec. 25 : Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and chairman of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has called upon all political parties and leaders to participate in the elections.
Addressing the Central Committee meeting of the party at his official residence in Baluwatar, Prime Minister Oli said that he was forced to seek fresh mandate of the people through election as attempts were made not to allow his government to function properly.
Defending his decision to dissolve the parliament, he said the intra-party rift had severely affected the government’s function. “I took the decision to save the country from instability,” he said.
Asking the leaders and cadres, who have joined the Prachanda-Nepal faction, to return to his party, PM Oli said, “The faction got separated not for the wellbeing of the country and its people but for their personal interest.”
The NCP has been divided into two factions after the government dissolved the House on Sunday.
“Our party and the government is committed to safeguarding the Constitution, federal democratic republic and political achievements,” Prime Minister and party chair Oli said.
Likewise, the Central Committee meeting led by Oli also decided to curtail executive rights of party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
The Central Committee (CC) meeting took a decision to this effect by amending the party statute, said party spokesperson Pradeep Gyawali.
Talking to The Rising Nepal, spokesperson Gyawali said the meeting decided to curtail executive rights of chairman Prachanda. However, he would still remain as a party co-chairman, he added.
The party also decided to make the signature of only party chairman Oli valid.
The meeting also removed provincial chiefs of the party who joined the Prachanda-Nepal faction and appointed new chiefs in all seven provinces.
According to Gyawali, Subas Nembang has been appointed party chief of Province 1, Satya Narayan Mandal of Province 2, Ishwar Pokhrel of Bagmati Province, Prithvi Subba Gurung of Gandaki Province, Shanker Pokharel of Lumbini Province, Mani Thapa of Karnali and Lekh Raj Bhatta in Sudur Paschim Province.
Meanwhile, secretariat member of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ said the decision to dissolve the House of Representatives (HoR) was made to direct the country towards stability and a revolutionary transformation.
While addressing the same meeting, he said a faction of the party had been split and some reactionary forces were celebrating it.
Minister Thapa said, “We have to defeat factionalists, opportunists and regressive forces in the election. And our party will further lead the country in a proper manner.”
Talking about the rival faction led by Prachanda-Nepal, Thapa said their focus was on revoking the achievements gained through the revolution.
He further added that they would get a landslide victory in the election and steer the nation in the right direction in the days to come.
“I am here to support a leadership, who has been in the forefront for the national interest, to unite communist movement and for the stability in the country,” said Thapa.
Thapa, who belonged to the erstwhile CPN Maoist prior to the merger of the then CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center), joined
chairman Oli’s camp on Thursday.
However, NCP vice chairman Bam Dev Gautam has not yet switched to any faction.
The party led by Oli also informed the Election Commission about the removal of Prachanda from the executive chairman.
In the statue amendment proposal submitted by it to the EC, it has mentioned that the party has removed Prachanda from the executive role.