Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli is likely to sack Maoist leader and Home Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet over mass transfers of chief district officers (CDOs) against instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office. Basnet’s refusal to annul the order, even after PMO’s instructions, may not just invite his dismissal, but may also lead to the bitter parting of two Communist parties — Nepal Communist Party (Maoist-Centre) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist, that Oli heads. The two parties have been the partners in the 8-month-old coalition government. Meanwhile, seven out of eight ministers from the Maoist party did not attend a cabinet meeting on Thursday, indicating that all was not well in the cabinet. The “boycott” came in the wake of the mass transfer of the CDOs by the home minister. The seven ministers, instead, attended a meeting called by party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” to chart out the course of events following Basnet’s “dismissal”. According to sources, Dahal was instructed not to bend by party leaders as evidenced by the developments that followed. [related-post] The home secretary, under instructions from Basnet, wrote to the PMO that it was not possible to annul the transfer, in an apparent message to the PM that the Maoist ministers in the cabinet and the 83 members in parliament, will stay in or get out of the government on their own terms. Oli, however, asserted that his government will survive its full term. “I will quit only after holding elections to Parliament due in December next year,” he insisted. Cabinet spokesperson and Information Minister Sherdhan Rai said the Maoist ministers could not attend the cabinet as they were busy in their party meeting. Maoist chief Dahal has been insisting for the past few days that Oli should be handing over the reigns of the government to him in accordance with a “gentlemen’s agreement” reached between the two on April 29. Oli, however, has been in no mood to oblige. Addressing an event Thursday, Oli said no agreement has been reached about his quitting and handing over the leadership. “Yes, there is some pressure on me to quit, but just because people want it, I can’t do it.” Oli said he is living a “bonus life” — he suffers from renal problems after transplant of both kidneys. “I will have major development schemes executed,” he said. “But I am not tired. I’m in high spirits to fulfill what I promised I will do.” He said he would not want to be inactive for even a minute. “I will quit if my quitting helps solve all the problems in the country. But will not run away from my responsibility under threat or duress.”
