Kathmandu, December 23
The ongoing standing committee meeting of the Nepal Communist Party on Sunday discussed the controversial Asia Pacific Summit.
After party members expressed dissatisfaction over the role the government played during the summit, senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal responded to a question raised by many: Why did the government agree to host the summit?
According to a party source, Nepal defended the government’s role by telling the members that the United Peace Federation wasn’t a bad organisation and that the government had done nothing wrong by hosting the event.
During the meeting, Nepal also clarified that he had only gone on foreign visits six times and not 22 times as was pointed out by a group of party leaders. “You can investigate the UPF. I have no problem,” the source quoted him as saying.
However, senior party members Ghansyam Bhusal, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Bhim Rawal said they were dissatisfied with his clarification and criticised Nepal. According to the source, they told Nepal the summit showed both the government and the party ministers in bad light.
Former Foreign Minister Shrestha reported to the members that he had told the Baburam Bhattarai-led government not to host the summit in 2012. He added that he had suggested both PM Oli and Chairman Prachanda to not go ahead with the summit.
Bhim Rawal and Ghanshyam Bhusal reiterated that the UPF was not a good organisation and that the role of the government in promoting the summit was wrong. Rawal even read out the letter sent by PM Oli to the guests of the summit. He questioned how PM Oli could support such a controversial organisation by sending out invitations himself.
