KHATMANDU, 25 March, 2021 (TON): No-confidence motions registered against the chief ministers of the two provinces Rai and Poudel have been withdrawn by the Provincial Assembly members from the Madhav Kumar Nepal-Jhala Nath Khanal faction of CPN-UML in Province 1 and Bagmati.

An agreement was reached among the top leaders at the central level three days ago to withdraw the no confidence motions against Province 1 Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai and Bagmati Province Chief Minister Dor Mani Poudel.

According to Rajendra Kumar Rai, a leader of the Nepal-Khanal faction and a Provincial Assembly member of Province 1, “The decision comes following a party meeting after the top leaders reached an agreement,” said Rai. “We have started collecting signatures of those lawmakers who had signed in favor of the motion. We will withdraw the proposal within four-five days.”

 “The Provincial Assembly has not commenced any meeting for the past four months, and since the Nepali Congress has not come up with a decision, there is confusion as to when this issue will be settled,” said Rai. “That is why we have decided to withdraw the proposal,” he added.

The Nepal-Khanal faction is facing a tough time ever since the Supreme Court on 7 March scrapped the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and revived the UML and the Maoist Centre.

The no confidence motions against Rai and Poudel were filed when the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) still existed and the court had not yet overturned Oli's House dissolution decision. At that time, Nepal and Khanal were with Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who was then another chair of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) along with Oli.