By Our Reporter

The ruling UML and the main opposition Maoist Centre held central working committee meetings simultaneously this week.

The two rival communist parties, which were unified before the division in Nepal Communist Party in 2021, not only held the central committee meeting at the same time, they also criticised each other in the meetings that lasted for three days and concluded on Tuesday.

While the UML leaders blamed CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal for the political instability in the country, the Maoist Party accused the UML of lacking internal democracy in the party.

Meetings of both parties endorsed the political reports submitted by their party chairmen.

Addressing the closing session of the meeting after discussions on his political report, party chairperson and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that there were no longer any former factions within the party and that all members are now part of the present UML.

“There are no former factions in UML. Let us not look for the past; instead, let us seek the present UML, a vibrant UML of today,” Oli was quoted as saying.

“We are not status quoists; we are revolutionaries. Our goal is to achieve socialism and ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali.’ We must stand united against internal and external encirclements to work effectively for the welfare of the country.”

 Oli said that leaders like Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Madhav Kumar Nepal had attempted to divide the unified party in the past.

Likewise, the meeting of the Maoist Centre endorsed the political proposal titled ‘Resolution for Party Transformation and Reorganisation: The Historic Necessity of Today’, with amendments.

A total of 118 office bearers and central members provided suggestions on the proposal of the party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Addressing the final session of the three-day meeting, party chairman Dahal termed the sixth plenary meeting as a historic and far-reaching event.

Stating that the meeting has ensured uniformity in ideology, planning, and sentiments within the party, Dahal said that it had laid the foundation for victory by steering the party back towards its class and community base.

He clarified that the implementation of the meeting’s decisions would serve as a milestone for the socialist revolution, breaking previous continuities.

In another context, Dahal said that the simultaneous meetings of the MC and UML had provided an opportunity for evaluation on a national and global scale.

“The public now has an opportunity to compare which party--the Maoist Centre or UML-- advocates good governance, social justice, and prosperity, and which upholds internal democracy or leans towards authoritarianism,” he said.

He further added, “While UML started its meeting by taking action and expelling members for raising critical issues, we conducted consultations across the country, practising a high level of democracy within the party through extensive discussions.”

The UML had expelled leader Bhim Rawal and suspended Binda Pande and Usha Kiran Timilsina a few days before holding the central committee meeting.

Dahal also announced plans to reach out extensively to the people through campaigns, eventually culminating in a national convention.

He clarified that former Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun was invited to the meeting not because the party made him politically active, but because he expressed a desire to participate.