Amid crisis & China's meddling, Nepal's former PM Prachanda in Mumbai for wife's treatment

Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', former Nepal Prime Minister and chairman of a rival faction of ruling Nepal Communist Party, will arrive in Mumbai on Monday for treatment of his ailing wife Sita Dahal. According to ANI sources in Indian mission, Dahal couple would fly to Mumbai on Monday for treatment as former First Lady has been combating Progressive Supranuclear Palsy for several years.

Former Nepal PM to arrive in Mumbai

"y will fly to Mumbai for treatment. All arrangements have been made on an urgent basis," source confirmed without furr details. Ar leader from rival faction of ruling party as well as Central Committee member of Dahal-Nepal faction furr confirmed that Prachanda has informed party members about his urgent visit to India.

"Chairman Dahal informed today's (Sunday) Central Committee meeting that he is flying to Mumbai, India along with his spouse Sita Dahal for purpose of medical treatment," Beduram Bhusal, a Central Committee Member confirmed. Sita Dahal is undergoing treatment at Mediciti Hospital in Lalitpur District. She has also undergone treatment at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2019 along with or hospitals in India and Singapore.

Dahal, Nepal in bid to rope in or parties

Meanwhile, Nepal Communist Party (NCP) faction led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal on Sunday held its Standing Committee meeting and decided to coordinate with all political parties to explore possibility of a joint protest against dissolution of House of Representatives.

READ | 'Prachanda' replaces Oli as NCP Parliamentary chief after Nepal's 'House dissolution'

READ | Nepal PM Oli 'tired of making deals with Prachanda'; Chinese ploy to restore unity fails

According to Himalayan Times, Standing Committee member Lilamani Pokharel said meeting discussed ways to make party’s protest against dissolution of HoR effective by mobilising all party units. He said Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was planning to prolong his stay at helm by imposing emergency in country and his party wanted to foil his move. 

Pokharel said his party wanted to launch a joint protest with NC and Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal, but NC was confused as it wanted to prepare for election thinking y would be held on stipulated dates.

Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 after Oli, kwn for his pro-Beijing leanings, in a surprise move, recommended dissolving 275-member House, amidst a tussle for power with Prachanda. Acting on prime minister's recommendation, President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved House same day and anunced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10, sparking protests from a large section of NCP led by Prachanda, also a co-chair of ruling party. Just days earlier, a top Chinese official who was dispatched by Communist Party of China (CPC) to Nepal in an attempt to resolve discord in NCP returned to Beijing empty-handed. 

READ | Nepal's feuding communist leaders welcome China's meddling as Xi's envoy goes on spree

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(With ncy inputs)