KATHMANDU, July 17: The Standing Committee meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) scheduled for 11 am has been deferred till 3 pm as Prime Minister K P Oli and Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal have decided to hold further discussions to resolve the intra-party disputes.

The party’s Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reached Prime Minister Oli’s official residence in Baluwatar for discussions as the rival faction led by Dahal and the party’s senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal prepares to ask Prime Minister Oli to step down from the post.

NCP leaders close to Prime Minister Oli said the meeting between Oli and Dahal is currently underway as per the agreement reached between the two leaders on Thursday.

A meeting held among Oli, Dahal and Nepal in Baluwatar on Thursday had decided not to further defer the Standing Committee meeting scheduled for Friday even as they were unable to reach any agreement. The Standing Committee meeting scheduled to be held later today is likely to fix the date of the party’s Central Committee meeting.

The intra-party dispute within the ruling NCP has shown no sign of abetting after the rival factions led by Dahal and senior leader Nepal asked Prime Minister Oli to step down from the post of the country’s top executive.

Sources close to the top NCP leaders said the intra-party dispute is likely to grow further as Prime Minister Oli rejected outright the demand of Dahal and Nepal during a meeting touted to be the ‘decisive’ one on Thursday to settle the intra-party row that has plagued the ruling NCP for the past few months. Prime Minister Oli has, according to sources, threatened to split the party if he is forced to quit both the posts.

 
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