Nepal's ruling CPN-UML's meeting forms 24-member parliamentary board

Kathmandu: The parliamentary party meeting of Nepal's ruling CPN-UML, led by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, formed a 24-member parliamentary board and three-member statute amendment task force on Thursday even as leaders of the rival faction boycotted the meet, according to media reports.

Over 100 lawmakers close to Oli, who is also the party's Chairperson, took part in the meeting held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar.

The 27-member parliamentary board, which will be headed by Prime Minister Oli, includes leaders of the party's rival faction Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal, myRepublica newspaper reported.

The board will be full-fledged after three more members are added to it, the report said.

Padam Giri, a lawmaker who attended the meeting, said it was also decided to form a three-member task force to amend the party's statute.

The task force comprises party's chief whip Bishal Bhattarai, Bimala Rai Poudel and Sher Bahadur Tamang, it said.

More than 100 lawmakers of the House of Representatives attended today's meeting, Niru Devi Pal, who is a parliamentarian close to the Oli faction, said.

The next parliamentary party meeting has been scheduled for March 20 and all the lawmakers close to the Nepal-Khanal faction will also attend the next meeting, Sher Bahadur Tamang, UML (Unified Marxist Leninist) lawmaker, said.

Asked if the party was preparing to take action against those who did not attend it, Tamang said no such discussion was taken in the meeting.

The Prime Minister's call for the parliamentary party meeting came at a time when the Communist Party of Nepal-UML's rival faction led by Nepal and Khanal went ahead with the two-day national gathering of the party's leaders and cadres on Wednesday and Thursday.

However, amid growing factional rift in the party, the party's rival faction decided to boycott the parliamentary party meeting, a myRepublica report said.