Nepal ruling party's rival faction threatens to revoke Oli's membership

Rival faction leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party's (NCP) have threatened to revoke Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's membership in the party, as they took to the streets for the second time in less than a month against his unconstitutional move to dissolve the Parliament.

While addressing a public meeting after a power show, Madhav Kumar Nepal, a leader of the rival faction of NCP, said that an order for "clarification" has been sent to Oli over his move to dissolve the Parliament.

"We ousted Oli from the post of Chairman of ruling NCP. Now, we will take disciplinary actions against him as he is not fit to remain a member of the Communist Party and we have ordered him to provide clarifications. He has not replied to us till date," he said.

He also warned that Oli might be thrown out of the party by revoking his membership and also ruled out any possibilities of unification with Oli even after he acknowledges his mistakes and corrects his latest move.

"No one should be under the impression that the NCP would bow down to KP Oli. It will never happen as we do politics on the basis of value and beliefs," he remarked.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, also a leader of the rival faction of NCP, has threatened to oust Oli and block him from getting primary membership of the party.

"KP Oli, therefore, is no longer a comrade. A lot of sacrifices are required to be a comrade," he said.

Amid the increasing internal rift in the party, the now-caretaker Prime Minister Oli had decided to dissolve the Parliament on December 20 last year, calling for fresh elections for April and May this year. This was approved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

Soon after the announcement, the NCP split into two factions with each claiming its own to be the authentic ones. Now, it depends on the Election Commission who is studying the documents and laws to come to a conclusion on which faction will retain the election emblem of the "sun".

( With inputs from ANI )