UML secretariat meeting continues

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 24: The secretariat meeting of the CPN-UML has been extended for the third consecutive day. 

The meeting was prolonged as party leaders were unable to complete their remarks on Saturday, the party informed. 

Briefing the media after the second day of the secretariat meeting held at the residence of party chairman KP Sharma Oli, deputy general secretary Lekh Raj Bhatta said the next meeting will be held on Sunday.During Saturday’s meeting, leaders including general secretary Shankar Pokharel, three deputy general secretaries and five secretaries expressed their views, said Bhatta. 

“They presented their views in depth.  For last two days meeting, the secretariat members have shared all their feelings and experiences,” he said. 

He further informed that the remaining four secretaries would present their views on Sunday, after which the meeting would proceed with discussions on the proposed agenda.

“After the remaining four secretaries speak, we will move into discussions on the 11 proposed agendas,” he said.

Bhatta also stated that chairman Oli provided intermittent guidance during the course of the meeting.

When asked about the heated debates within the secretariat meeting over a possible change in party leadership, Bhatta said it was wrong to exaggerate and publicise internal party discussion. 

He expressed dissatisfaction over the portrayal of the meeting deliberations outside the party forum. 

“Many matters discussed in yesterday’s meetings have come out in an exaggerated manner,” he added. 

He said, “Coming from the kind of schooling I have had, I feel that within meetings various tendencies emerge, and people speak or raise issues based on those tendencies. However, I believe one should not speak beyond the party’s main line or official position.”

Lately, calls for an alternative to party chairman Oli have been strongly growing within the party. Even leaders elected from Oli’s own faction at the 11th National General Convention in December, are reportedly forming an internal alliance to challenge the leadership.

During Friday's secretariat meeting, four vice-chairs, including those who were Oli's closest confidants, jointly put forward a proposal for party restructuring. 

The vice-chairs Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Prithvi Subba Gurung, Gokarna Bista, and Raghuji Pant concluded that there should be a change in leadership, arguing that the party could no longer move forward under Oli’s leadership and urged him to pave the way for new leadership. 

It is also said that general secretary Shanker Pokharel, once considered a close confidant of Oli, expressed the view that the party could not move forward in the current situation and should instead advance through review and necessary reforms.

However, deputy general secretary Bhatta denied that such a situation existed and instead questioned the tendency of some leaders.

On the other hand, only Ram Bahadur Thapa stood in support of Chairman Oli. Thapa argued that at a time when leadership must be defended, it was not appropriate to advance proposals for change. 

Oli also directed that leaders should align themselves with Thapa’s line.