Miscellaneous
PM Oli skips tea reception due to ‘minor illness’
Ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) hosted a tea reception, a tradition of both the erstwhile CPN UML and CPN Maoist Centre, at Bhrikuti Mandap to celebrate festivals including Dashain, Tihar and Chhath.Ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) hosted a tea reception, a tradition of both the erstwhile CPN UML and CPN Maoist Centre, at Bhrikuti Mandap to celebrate festivals including Dashain, Tihar and Chhath.
This is the first ever tea reception after the two largest communist parties merged last May. However, one of the chairs Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli skipped the first ever tea reception of NCP due to minor illness.
According to PM’s personal aide Rajesh Bajracharya, Oli was suffering from coughing and fever and was taking rest therefore could not attend the reception. Unlike previous receptions, major leaders of NCP chose not to speak to the media reporters today.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was in city on Thursday to attend the reception, also stood in between party co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal for some time to welcome guests to the reception.
Former prime minister and President of the opposition Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba made a brief, but important statement during the reception to the media urging the ruling party for reconciliation.“Reconciliation is the need of the hour. It’s up to the government how to do it,” he said.
Around 50,000 people were invited to the reception from different sectors including officials from diplomatic missions, leaders of different parties besides NCP leaders and cadres. Chief Ministers including Prithvi Subba Gurung of Gandaki Province and Sherdhan Rai of Province 1 also attended the reception.
Meanwhile, expressing discontent over the activities of the party and government one disgruntled group distributed leaflets appealing all not to attend the tea reception claiming that it was unnecessary. They have also demanded that other fringe communist parties should be brought under its ambit besides forming a high-level panel to co-ordinate the activities of the government to improve performance.
NCP members manhandled one of person who distributed the leaflet at the event.Former Maoist leader and Co-ordinator of Naya Shakti Nepal Baburam Bhattarai informed he was unable to attend the function via twitter. The former prime minister has urged the ruling NCP to use the expenditure to host 50,000 people for any constructive work instead. NCP leader Lekhnath Neupane also commented that such a lavish culture was not necessary for a communist party.