Amid intra-party row, UML Standing Committee meeting postponed until further notice

KATHMANDU, June 3: The Standing Committee meeting of the ruling CPN-UML, which was scheduled for 4PM Thursday, has been postponed until further notice. 

According to Sher Bahadur Tamang, secretary at the party’s central office, the meeting was put off sine die. Similar meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, was also postponed. 

A leader close to Chairman KP Shamra Oli said that the meeting was postponed as negotiations and consultations are underway to resolve the internal matters and keep the party unity intact. 

The dissident faction of the party --- led by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal ---, however, held a virtual meeting on Thursday itself. 

The intra-party row in the party further escalated as more than 20 lawmakers of the dissolved House of Representatives (HoR) joined the opposition alliance to support Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba as the prime minister. 

Earlier, the establishment faction of the party expelled 11 leaders including Nepal from the party. Another 12 leaders were asked to furnish clarifications.