Accusing Khanal of winning the party´s top post by rigging and adopting other deceitful means to defeat him during the party´s last general convention, Oli said he would not tolerate it if the party´s establishment faction does not mend its ways.
“We remained silent even as they [Khanal group] won elections by producing fake ballot boxes during the last general convention,” Oli, who vied for the post of party chairman in February 2009, said at a gathering of CPN-UML´s Jhapa-Kathmandu liaison chapter in Baneshwar on Saturday. “But this will not be tolerated in the coming general convention.” [break]
“UML is not a party of cowards. UML rank and file will be ready to do anything to protect its votes during the election,” said Oli. “The UML´s victory this time around is certain only if we can protect our votes from the rivals.”
He came down heavily on the party chairman accusing the latter of provoking a group of leaders of the party´s wing Youth Federation of Nepal (YFN) against its Chairman Mahesh Basnet, who is a key member of Oli-led faction.
“A group of around four people have been protesting against the YFN leadership. But those who are provoking them are more responsible than those protesting,” Mohan Bastola, publicity chief of the Jhapa-Kathmandu liaison chapter, quoted Oli as saying at the closed-door session of the gathering. Oli said that it was Khanal group that plotted factional disputes within Basnet-led youth wing.
Oli´s remarks have come at a time when factional rivalry has been further deepened in the recent days. Lately, Oli has been fervently criticizing the party chairman as Khanal and another key leader Madhav Kumar Nepal have forged an alliance against Oli faction.
He went on to say that Khanal was running the party as if it was his own personal fiefdom. “It is not a party that the chairman has formed in his house,” Bastola quoted Oli as saying.
Khanal last week issued a circular to YFN and the leaders, instructing Basnet and the dissenting groups to withhold all events until the factional rivalries are sorted out. He intervened in the affairs of the youth wing as the factions were running parallel activities. While Basnet called a central committee meeting of the organization in Biratnagar for Thursday, YFN Vice-chairman Jhapat Rawal planned a gathering of dissidents in Kathmandu the same day.
Basnet convened his organization´s scheduled meeting in Biratnagar in defiance of the party chairman´s circular while the Rawal group cancelled their gathering as per the party instructions.
Oli said that the act of YFN´s dissident group to hold press meet to protest against the organization´s decision is meaningless. “There is no point in making hue and cry just because they had a difference over the date and venue a meeting”" Bastola quoted Oli as saying.
Oli claimed that top leaders, weren´t informed about the chairman´s circular issued to YFN.
Khanal had issued similar circular a few months ago also when two rival factions within the party´s student wing ran parallel activities. Oli made a mockery of the dissident student faction´s agitation against its chief. “A few weeks ago, a group of students staged a hunger strike in front the party head office. They would eat food at the lunch time and break the hunger strike during dinner time,” said Oli. He also announced to adopt “any means to counter possible attacks from rival parties during the coming elections.”
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