Following pressure from the prime minister to stop the campaign the UML parliamentary party (PP) put off the PP meeting which was called for Sunday morning. The meeting was put off only late on Saturday evening. [break]
The prime minister on Saturday called UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel and urged them to stop the signature campaign by parliamentarians from within the party.
The prime minister had raised the matter seriously with the party top leaders after a majority of UML parliamentarians initiated the campaign, demanding that the prime minister step down on the ground that the UML-led government had failed to complete the major tasks of writing the constitution and concluding the peace process in the given timeframe.
Some members had put down their signatures under the campaign while many others were prepared to speak out strongly at the PP meeting on Sunday morning against the government leadership.
"Though the number of members who signed might be low those who are in favor of pressing the leadership to step down are more than 60," a member told myrepublica.com, preferring anonymity.
Following talks with the PM, Khanal and Pokharel instructed parliamentarians strictly to stop the campaign.
After finding that a majority of members in the PP were preparing to speak out strongly against the government, the prime minister had asked Khanal, who is also parliamentary party leader of the UML, about the state of things.
"Let me know what the stance of our own parliamentary party is. If I am going to face non-cooperation from within my party, I will also act accordingly," a source close to the prime minister quoted him as telling Khanal.
Following talks with the prime minister, the chairman and the general secretary had instructed the parliamentarians strictly to stop the campaign.
In the evening Prime Minister Nepal also held a meeting with senior party leaders including KP Sharma Oli, Bishnu Poudel, Bharat Mohan Adhikari and Chief Whip Bhim Acharya at the prime minister´s official residence at Baluwatar. All the ministers representing the party were also present at the meeting.
Chief Whip Acharya, who calls the parliamentary party meetings and makes the arrangements, went directly to the residence of Chairman Khanal from Baluwatar. After consulting the prime minister and the chairman, Acharya late in the evening decided to postpone the meeting.
"Sunday´s meeting has been postponed," he told myrepublica.com. He, however, did not go into the reasons for postponement.
Chairman Khanal commands a majority in the 109-member parliamentary party while his rival KP Sharma Oli and the prime minister hold a majority in the party´s central committee, which is all in all in decision-making in the party.
After coming under immense pressure from parliamentarians, the UML leadership had decided to hold its PP meeting at the party head office at Balkhu in the presence of the party´s Standing Committee (SC) members.
Later the leaders had planned to hold the meeting at the PP office at Singha Durbar and the SC members were to be invitee-members to listen to the parliamentarians´ opinions.
At previous PP meetings also, parliamentarians not only fiercely criticized the UML-headed government but also took some vital decisions contradictory to the party CC stance.
According to a dissident parliamentarian, the prime minister likewise held several rounds of one-on-one and group meetings with UML parliamentarians following the new development.
thira@myrepublica.com
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