(TibetanReview.net, Mar23’21) – China’s Nepal ambassador Ms Hou Yanqi has renewed a desperate active diplomacy to save the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist (UML)government at Kathmandu even as Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has moved decisively towards expelling prominent rebels in the ruling party.
She met two former prime ministers — Madhav Kumar Nepal, Oli’s arch rival in the UML, and Maoist party chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda — at their residences separately. The move is thought to be an attempt to keep the Left forces together, reported the indianexpress.com Mar 23.
The report said Hou’s meeting with Madhav Nepal coincided with Oli’s decision to issue showcause notices to four prominent leaders of the UML, including Nepal, Bhim Rawal, Surendra Pandey and Ghanshyam Bhushal. The notices were seen as a preliminary step to expel them from the party on disciplinary grounds.
Those who have been issued notice have reportedly been given a three-day deadline for furnishing “satisfactory” responses.
The report said Madhav Nepal and his followers had been accused of holding separate meetings against the instruction of the party leadership.
China and Oli’s moves appear likely to have little effect on the ground reality. The Nepal Communist Party that was formed with the merge of the UML and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) two years ago on China’s initiative stands dissolved following a recent ruling by the country’s Supreme Court. The two constituents now retain their pre-merger separate identities.
