Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bimalendra Nidhi has said that country has been facing political difficulties due to the CPN-UML and its “double standards”.

Addressing a religious function in Bhaktapur on Sunday, Nidhi said that the UML leadership has forgotten that it was a party to an agreement on Province 5 which was jointly undersigned by top leaders of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML in the course of constitution making process.

The then PM and Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala and UML Chairman KP Oli had submitted a framework of seven-province model to Baburam Bhattarai, chairman of the Constitutional and Political Dialogue Committee of the second Constituent Assembly where they had carved Province 5 entirely from Nawalparasi to Bardiya where the Hill districts were not incorporated. As per the proposal tabled by Koirala and Oli, the government had moved the amendment proposal, Nidhi said, adding, “The reason behind registering the amendment proposal was to hold elections on time.”