KATHMANDU – The secretariat meeting of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is currently underway at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar.
Although the secretariat meeting scheduled for 11 am was postponed for a few hours to allow some time to forge consensus on whom to nominate as a member of the National Assembly, the two chairmen agreed to begin meeting after their attempts for the agreement failed to yield results, according to a NCP source.
The nine-member secretariat meeting is now set to decide on the nomination. Similarly, the meeting is also expected to discuss the report presented by a task-force formed to resolve intra-party disputes.
According to the party source, the issue of nomination for a vacant seat of the National Assembly is going to dominate the meeting.
While Prachanda is supporting party vice president Bam Dev Gautam’s bid to enter into the National Assembly, Prime Minister Oli is willing to reappoint Yuba Raj Khatiwada to pave the way for his continuity as the Finance Minister.
However, because the Finance Minister is not a parliamentarian, his six-month tenure without being a member of either the national assembly or House of Representatives will come to an end on Saturday.
He had been reappointed as Finance Minister after his two-year tenure as a member of the National Assembly expired based on a constitutional provision that allows the Prime Minister to appoint a non-parliamentarian as a minister for six months.
The ruling party is now sharply divided over whom to appoint as the National Assembly member.
