Senior leader of ruling CPN Madhav Kumar Nepal is not happy with the report submitted by the party's task force formed to resolve the internal dispute saying it has focused more on two chairmen than the party.
"What has come out about the report does not seem it came as was expected. It has also not focused on the provisions of party statute," a leader close to Nepal told Setopati. "It seems that the report has come putting just the two chairmen at the center. We are talking about system and rule in the party."
The leader added that he does not feel Nepal is happy with the report and claimed that it has come to postpone the problem instead of resolving it.
The task force led by CPN General Secretary Bishnu Paudel included standing committee members Janardan Sharma, Shankar Pokharel, Bhim Rawal, Surendra Pandey and Pampha Bhusal. Rawal and Pandey are close to Nepal.
Standing committee member Ashta Laxmi Shakya, who is also close to Nepal, however said that the party has reached the current state from the cusp of accident should be considered positive. "There is no need to make negative comments on the task force's report. There is no alternative to moving the party forward together," she stated. "The practice of only two chairmen doing everything should be ended. It should be done in accordance to the statute and rule adopting institutional system. The party should be run by collective leadership through party committees."
Another standing committee member Bedu Ram Bhusal, who is also close to Nepal, said the report is silent about the issue of statute raised by the faction. "The report has not come out stressing on one person, one position. The scope of the task force's mandate, to be fair, was not too broad," he stated. "The main issue raised is lack of implementation of the statute's provisions. It is not as clear on that issue as it should have been."
He opined that the report has postponed the dispute for now. He, however, pointed that the task force has only made recommendations and they would not necessarily be implemented.
The party has already called called secretariat meeting on Saturday to discuss the report submitted by the party's task force.
A meeting of CPN Chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal at Baluwatar on Tuesday has decided to call the meeting to discuss the report submitted by the Bishnu Paudel led task force formed to resolve the internal dispute in the party.
The meeting has been pushed back to Saturday, according to a party source, as senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal is in home quarantine after nine persons in his security detail tested positive for COVID-19. Nepal, however, has tested negative.
The party will call standing committee meeting to discuss the report after the secretariat meeting.
The task force formed to resolve internal dispute in ruling CPN in its report submitted to the two chairmen on Saturday has recommended that Oli will serve the full five-year term as PM and Dahal will take the wheel of the party.
It recommends that Dahal will be fully active in party works but will consult PM Oli who will remain a sort of ceremonial chairman. Similarly, PM Oli will also move the government works forward consulting Dahal.
The two chairmen had reached similar agreement on November 20, 2019 in presence of President Bidya Devi Bhandari Dahal who acted as guarantor of the agreement.
Dahal had relinquished his claim for the post of PM after the two chairmen signed the agreement on division of responsibilities. Dahal was made chairman with executive rights. Oli and Dahal were to remain chairmen, and Oli to continue to be ranked top but Oli had handed over the executive rights to Dahal.
Dahal was to lead the party and chair party meetings while Oli would lead the government through the current term of House of Representatives. But Oli continued to run even the party unilaterally, Dahal alleges, leading to the dispute that is raging inside the party since April.
The issue of seeking Oli's resignation has been settled for now. The factions of Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal were adamant that Oli should resign from one of the two top posts. The party's standing committee meeting has been stalled due to the demand of Oli's resignation.
The task force has also recommended that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact should not be implemented without amendment. It has advised the government to effectively fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and also urged it to resolve the border disputes with India through diplomacy.
It has advised formation of a task force to make the provincial and local governments more effective and recommended for holding the general convention by mid-April, 2021 and to operate the party in accordance to due procedures and system.
It has recommended to make political appointments in accordance to prevailing values and the two chairmen to move forward consulting each other considering party unity.
The report talks about making the federal government more effective but does not mention Cabinet reshuffle. The party source, however, claimed that it hints about reshuffle of the government and change of chief ministers with consent of the two chairmen.
A meeting of the warring chairmen on August 14 had formed the task force. The party's secretariat meeting three days later had endorsed the task force.
