Kathmandu, February 7
Prime Minister and chairperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, KP Sharma Oli, has finally conceded that the statement of his party, signed and issued by its another chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, over recent political situations in Venezuela was a mistake.
On January 25, Dahal had issued the statement on the party’s letterhead, blaming the United States for what he called an ‘imperialist coup’ in the South American country.
Of late, the party is under fire from stakeholders and experts who said the statement soured Nepal’s diplomatic ties with the western countries including the United States, which have been the country’s biggest donors.
Responding to the presenter’s question during a television talk show on Wednesday evening, Oli said the party statement ‘slipped out’ a bit.
Oli also claimed that he could have prevented the statement if he was in the country then. Oli was in Davos of Switzerland for an annual meeting of the World Economic Forum when Dahal issued the statement.
“I was returning home the next day. There was not any reason that would make the statement a must. It was not a significant issue,” he said, “The language used in the statement is not appropriate. Therefore, it created shock waves.”
He, however, maintained that no one should blow up the issue though it was a mistake on his party’s part.
