KATHMANDU : The central-level leadership of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is now taking lead in resolving the Karnali province’s intra-party disputes. NCP Chairman and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has now stepped in to resolve the dispute after 18 provincial assembly members of the ruling NCP began the process to register a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi.
NCP co-chair Oli has deputed Subhash Nembwang as his envoy to resolve the intra-party rift in the province. According to a party source, NCP leader Nembwang has already made phone calls to provincial leaders of the NCP to make it clear that there will not be any change at provincial government. He also held telephone conversations with Bimala KC, Land Management and Cooperatives Minister of Karnali, Dal Rawal, Social Development Minister, and Nanda Singh Budha, Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Minister.
The initiative from the center leadership to resolve the provincial disputes of the ruling party comes after NCP co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ met Oli on Monday to urge him to intervene. During the meeting, Prachanda reportedly told Oli that the change of the Chief Minister was against the mandate of the standing committee and secretariat.
Party leaders say that failure to resolve the disputes in the province will cause a rift at the central level too. Concluding that the provincial disputes could cause such divisions, party co-chair Oli decided to mobilize his trusted lieutenant Nembwang to settle the rift, said a standing committee member.
“This is not the time to change the provincial government. At a time when the country is confronting the coronavirus crisis, it does not bode well for the NCP leaders to get enmeshed in the intra party disputes.It’s like driving the country toward a mishap,” said the standing committee member. “The change of whether the federal or provincial governments will be based on the standing committee or secretariat decisions. We will reach nowhere if we start overthrowing any government just because we don’t like any leader. That’s why Prime Minister Oli decided to mobilize Nembwang to settle the dispute,” the standing committee member said.
NCP leader Bhim Rawal also believes that the no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister is an ill omen. Writing a Facebook status, he has urged the members to work in favor of the country and refrain from doing anything that would topple the government .
Arguing that Chief Minister Shahi has failed to perform in line with the people’s aspiration, 18 provincial members of the ruling NCP, including three from the erstwhile CPN(Maoist-Center), had registered a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Shahi, who is also the parliamentary party leader. There are 33 assembly members from the ruling NCP in Karnali province.
Shahi is a leader of erstwhile CP(Maoist-Center) that had merged into CPN(UML) to become the NCP. Additionally, former Maoists are not satisfied with Chief Minister Shahi, who they blame is more occupied with his personal interests rather than public and party interests.
