With growing calls for the resignation of Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Nepal’s ruling party, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), is fighting battles within its own ranks. PM Oli said that the party is currently facing a “grave crisis”, which could eventually cause a split in the party. As a result, he held an emergency meeting at his residence with his cabinet. In the meeting, he warned the members of the NCP of conspiracies to expel President Bidya Devi Bhandari from power. Further, he said, “Now conspiracies are being hatched to remove me from the post of Prime Minister and party chairman.” The Kathmandu Post reported that following the allegation indicating the intention to impeach President Bhandari, three former Prime Ministers met with the President and confirmed that these allegations were untrue.
Amidst the growing criticism of Oli’s leadership in Nepal, the Chinese ambassador in Nepal, Hou Yanqi, intervened and held a meeting with President Bhandari, and former PM Madhav Nepal, who is a sharp critic of the Oli government. While there is no information on the details of the conversation, a day after the meeting, the NCP’s Standing Committee meeting, which intended to discuss PM Oli leadership’s future, was postponed for the third time.
The NCP has two factions, with one group supporting the current PM Oli, and the second group supporting the former prime minister, Prachanda. During the NCP formation in 2018, the two leaders had negotiated a power-sharing agreement, wherein both Oli and Prachanda would hold the post for Prime Minister for two-and-a-half-years each. However, in 2019, the two agreed that Oli would hold the PM post for the entire term, and that the position for the Executive Chairman would be given to Prachanda. However, Prachanda says that since the “spirit” of the 2019 agreement was not being respected by the PM, he should abide by the 2018 arrangement.
Currently, Oli is facing opposition from 33 out of 44 members of his party, with two recent incidents have deepened the differences between the two factions. The first was the unilateral decision of PM Oli to postpone the Budget Session. Addressing the ministers, he said, “I had to make a quick decision to prorogue the Budget session of Parliament last week after coming to know that some of our party members were hatching a conspiracy to register an impeachment motion against the President at Parliament.” The second was the statement by Oli that accused members of the NCP of conspiring with India to create issues in his government. He also accused Prachanda of “non-cooperation” and blamed him for hindering the government’s smooth functioning. This created unrest amongst members of his party, who called for his resignation over his unsubstantiated remarks. Further, they also criticised Oli for his anti-India stand.
The India-Nepal dispute has been going on for some time now, and was solidified when the Nepali Parliament put forth a redrawn map that depicted Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhur as Nepali territory. This was allegedly in response to India’s inauguration of a road that connects the Lipulekh Pass and Dharchula. However, following the growing unpopularity of Oli’s anti-India stance, Nepal has taken down two out of six of the border posts that were set up following this redrawing of the map. This was confirmed by Anil Kumar Shukla, who is the sub-divisional magistrate of Dharchula. He said, “We noticed it during a brief meeting with Nepalese authorities a few days ago at the check post. When we enquired about it, they said it was done on the order of higher authorities.” Reports suggest that Nepal intends to take down three more such posts.
There are several speculations surrounding the cause of Nepal’s decision to take down the post. For instance, magistrate Shukla said, “[The posts] were largely set up amid the territorial dispute to check on illegal activities, if any, and the movement of Indian forces at the border. But as illegal activities are mainly confined to drug trafficking or smuggling at a minor scale through this border, their purpose was not served. And on top of that, the cost of maintaining these posts with men at such a remote location was significantly high. Hence, they removed the two posts.” However, other experts believe this to be a result of “PM Oli’s slipping grip in the government”.
India-Nepal Border Dispute Coverage:
- Indian Army Chief Addresses Simmering Tensions with Nepal, China, and Pakistan
- Nepal Cabinet Approves New Map Showing Land Disputed With India as Nepali Territory
- The Lipulekh Pass Dispute: What Does India Have to Lose From Souring Relations With Nepal?
- Nepal PM Promises to Reclaim Contested Land “At Any Cost”
- Amidst Growing Tensions With Nepal, Rajnath Singh Pushes for Diplomatic Conversation
- India Downplays Death of Citizen Along Nepal Border, Says Unrelated to Border Dispute
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