KATHMANDU, May 24: Mahesh Basnet, secretary of CPN-UML, has said that former President Bidya Devi Bhandari returning to active party membership is not a routine process.
Speaking to journalists after a UML Secretariat meeting, Basnet said Bhandari had remained politically neutral during her eight-year tenure as president and that there had long been demands for her re-entry process to be formally addressed through party documentation.
He said Bhandari, who originally took UML membership in 1977, needed to clarify her political status after remaining inactive in party affairs during her presidential tenure.
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Basnet also said the Secretariat was informed that Bhandari had renewed her membership through the party’s organization department. However, he added that some leaders proposed that she submit a formal application clarifying her eight-year absence from active party politics. According to Basnet, Bhandari viewed the proposal as insulting and rejected it.
He further said no discussion had taken place regarding any future role for Bhandari within the party. Since UML is currently neither in a convention nor restructuring phase, decisions on responsibilities would be made by the party leadership, he said.
Basnet also dismissed recent discussions about the resignation of UML Chair KP Sharma Oli as misleading. He said Oli’s leadership has been accepted within the party and that any leadership transition would only be possible based on Oli’s own recommendation and consent.
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