Waving the two flags, lawmakers and party cadres escorted him out of the building.
The priority given to the national flag by Oli loyalists reflects the newly-elected prime minister's own priority in recent days.
Those who visited KP Sharma Oli at any of his offices or his residence in the recent days must have received one common souvenir from the UML chairman -- a lapel pin of the national flag.
He distributes the pins and requests the visitors -- be they party cadres or people from any section of society -- to use them conspicuously.
Shortly after Oli got elected as the UML parliamentary party leader, UML lawmakers at a meeting were instructed to wear the national-flag lapel pin. Oli himself distributed the lapel pins to all lawmakers at the meeting.
After Oli becoming the party chairman, he encouraged party members to use the national flag more than the communist hammer-and-sickle flag, and to sing the national anthem instead of the Internationale.
These are some of the anecdotes about Oli after he assumed the helm of the party. There are many more.
As the constitution-making process in the Constituent Assembly (CA) became focused on the major contentious issues such as system of governance, judiciary and, most importantly, restructuring the country into federal provinces, the major political forces became sharply divided into two camps.
While the Nepali Congress (NC) was the largest party in the ruling coalition, Oli always remained at the forefront, be it in floating a new proposal or in strongly rejecting an idea.
He didn't hesitate to attack some proposals in state restructuring even if his remarks at times sparked protests in the Tarai.
When he took on some proposals on delineation of the federal provinces, a large section of the country started to take him as a nationalist leader while others projected him as rigid and reluctant to address the concerns of the marginalized. To undercut his nationalist image, opponents projected him as "anti-federalist and anti-Madhesi".
Those who only know Oli as a nationalist icon may become bewildered when they compare the recent phenomenon with the "anti-nationalist image" that none other than fellow-UML leaders tried to give him around 20 years back.
At the time, Oli had openly lobbied for signing the Mahakali Treaty with India while others including Bamdev Gautam strongly opposed the deal.
A Gautam-led faction declared the deal anti-national agreement and eventually the party split. At the time, Oli's rivals accused him of working in India's interest. He has also been accused of working in India's interest at different crucial junctures.
As Oli has now chosen a "nationalist approach" and become prime minister at a time when the country is reeling under serious problems, his major challenge is to retain his image while tackling the problems. First off, he has to normalize the strained relations with India and ease the obstructed supplies from the southern neighbor.
A decisive leader
With a 50-year political journey behind him, he is thought to be a decisive and action-oriented leader who can take bold decisions at crucial junctures.
For years, the UML had a bad reputation as a party with indecisive leaders and an unclear political stance at crucial times.
In the past year and more as UML chief, Oli has succeeded in changing the public perception of his party.
Under his leadership, UML was the most disciplined and united party in the Constituent Assembly whereas it was just the opposite in the past.
Leaders who know him well claim that he can prove his opponents wrong by his delivery in government.
"I have seen misleading information being spread projecting me as anti-Madhesi-Tharu-Janajati. But I will prove that wrong by action," Oli announced at the parliament meeting.
Action-oriented Oli is quite capable of doing a turnaround in his political course.
Until a few months ago, the relationship between Oli and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was so bitter that they publicly spewed venom at each other.
But over the months Oli succeeded in turning Dahal into a staunch supporter of his prime ministerial candidacy. Eventually, Oli had gotten elected PM upon Dahal's proposal in parliament.
A biography of newly-elected Prime Minister Oli singles out Ramnath Dahal of Jhapa, a leader of the Jhapa uprising who was later killed by the authorities, as his major source of inspiration.
UML politburo member Bishnu Rimal describes Oli as a pragmatist, who learns from society, draws his inspiration from the people around him and takes his decisions on that basis.
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