Politburo members of the CPN-UML have criticised Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Mayor Balendra Shah’s recent social media posts against party chair and prime minister KP Sharma Oli, calling them ‘unruly’.

Speaking on Wednesday, the second day of the party’s politburo meeting that began Tuesday, leaders, without directly naming Shah, termed his statements unruly, while emphasising that the UML is a party with a long history.

“Ours is the party with historical roots, therefore, we should not be concerned about statements from certain individuals,” leader Devi Gyawali told the Post, quoting politburo members.

On Sunday Mayor Shah, known for his unconventional working style, once again criticised the prime minister, accusing him of failing to act on repeated calls of the metropolitan city to take action against Rekha Sharma. Sharma, a CPN-UML provincial assembly member in Lumbini, is accused of abusing a child domestic worker for eight years.

The back-and-forth between Oli and Shah, a popular rapper, is nothing new. Prior to this, on June 3, Shah had accused Oli of ‘policy corruption’ related to the illegal land swap involving Giri Bandhu Tea Estate in Jhapa.

Likewise, Gyawali said that most politburo members who spoke on Wednesday suggested the party contest the upcoming election on its own strength, without partnering with other parties. “For this, the party should strengthen its organisational base,” Gyawali quoted politburo members as saying at the meeting.

There is no likelihood of a communist alliance in the upcoming election, the meeting asserted, according to Gyawali.

Politburo members also discussed the crisis-ridden credit cooperatives and the ongoing parliamentary investigation led by UML politburo member Surya Thapa.

“Our politburo members have expressed full confidence in the parliamentary special probe committee and the report it will submit to Parliament in the near future,” Bishal Bhattarai, a member of the politburo, told the Post. “The UML is committed to holding those responsible for the scam legally accountable.”

However, none of the politburo members named names in connection with the cooperatives scam, Bhattarai added.

On Monday, Kaski police had interrogated Rastriya Swatantra Party chief Rabi Lamichhane, who is also an immediate past deputy prime minister and home minister.

Although the parliamentary special probe committee members claim that his involvement in the cooperatives scam cannot be ruled out, Lamichhane has consistently denied any role in the scam.

After hearing from 51 politburo members on Wednesday, party chair Oli delivered his concluding remarks before closing the meeting.

In his remarks, Oli said that the UML must address the growing indiscipline and unethical behaviours in the party, according to a politburo member.

“One should either focus on politics or on enjoyment, but the two cannot go hand in hand,” the politburo member said, quoting Oli. “Immoral activities will not be tolerated.”

During Wednesday’s session, politburo members also gave feedback on the party’s ‘Annual Action Plan For National Power Building’ report, which was presented by the party’s general secretary, Shankar Pokharel, on Tuesday.

General Secretary Pokharel had presented an 18-point, 23-page report outlining the organisational work the party needs to undertake to be a decisive national power in the upcoming elections.

The party’s annual plan includes renewing party memberships, managing and mobilising sister wings, conducting the party’s convention, expanding organisation, assigning responsibilities to district-level leaders who were defeated in the convention, and defining roles for new party members.

As per the politburo member, the general secretary’s annual action plan report also calls for resolving the party’s internal conflicts.

On Tuesday, Oli had announced that his party will contest the upcoming elections on its own strength. Oli said that the UML may cooperate with the Nepali Congress in government, but it will contest the upcoming elections on policy grounds.

The UML chief said the party’s ‘Mission 84’ strategy aims to secure a single-party majority, and instructed party officials to prepare an annual action plan accordingly.

“Even though we are currently partnering with the Congress, the UML will contest the elections independently and emerge as a major national power,” Oli said at the politburo meeting.

On Sunday, the central committee meeting of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament, also considered contesting the next general and provincial elections independently.

On Tuesday, UML chair and Prime Minister Oli also briefed members on the alleged attempts by the CPN (Maoist Centre) and its chair, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, to destabilise the government.

“Since losing power, Dahal has been working to incite certain groups to create unrest,” a politburo party member quoted Oli as saying. “But we won’t let him succeed.”

Oli further said that Dahal’s speech in the House of Representatives meeting on August 27 was intended at causing chaos. While speaking in the House, Dahal had warned that if the government pushed through its agenda on the pretext of majority rule, Nepal might see unrest similar to what happened in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

“It was not the language of a responsible leader,” Oli reportedly said during the politburo meeting.

The politburo meeting has passed the ‘Annual Action Plan For National Power Building’ report presented by the general secretary, with suggestions. However, the final decision on it will be taken by the central secretariat, says Rajendra Gautam, the head of the UML publicity department.