It must be considered a coincidence! On the same day, two major party leaders, Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ of the Maoist Centre, gave contrasting remarks about the character of Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.
On Tuesday, Deuba and Prachanda were in different districts of the Gandaki Province for separate events. Deuba was addressing a gathering and orientation program of Congress presidents in Pokhara, Kaski, while Prachanda was speaking at a warning assembly organized by his party in Beni, Myagdi.
The Nepali Congress is the largest party in the Parliament, while the Maoist Centre is the third-largest. Additionally, the Congress is in a power-sharing alliance with UML, whereas the Maoist Centre is in opposition. This may explain why Deuba expressed trust in Oli and reaffirmed that the power-sharing agreement would proceed as planned. However, just a few hours after Deuba’s statement, Prachanda criticized Oli, calling him a fraudster and a deceiver.
What Did Deuba Say About Oli in Pokhara?
“To be honest, KP Oli and I were prison mates. It was a time of great hardship, with no hope of release,” Deuba said. “We were placed in an even more restrictive prison due to the Jhapa incident. We are main political competitors, yet there is no reason to distrust KP Oli.”
Speaking at an orientation program attended by Congress presidents from all 77 districts and the chief of the training department, Deuba praised UML Chairman Oli.
At a time when Congress members were expressing doubts about whether Oli would smoothly hand over power, Deuba reassured them. The agreement between UML and Congress on July 1, 2024, states that their coalition will last until 2084 BS (2027 AD) and that Oli and Deuba will alternate as prime ministers. Some Congress leaders and cadres remain skeptical about the agreement’s implementation. To address this skepticism, Deuba praised Oli to uphold political decorum.
According to the agreement, Deuba is supposed to take over as Prime Minister from Oli in the month of Shrawan, 2082 BS (July/August 2025 AD). Oli has repeatedly stated that he will transfer power to Deuba on time.
In the presence of Congress leaders from across the country, Deuba not only expressed trust in Oli but also emphasized that the two parties had historically fought for democracy together. He further claimed that the Congress-UML coalition was formed for political stability.
“There have been questions about why a government was formed through an alliance between two major competing parties. But not just now—if UML and Congress agree for a long time, political stability can be established,” Deuba said. “Governments used to be unstable, with uncertainty about their duration. But now, with these two parties forming a government together, its stability is clear.”
Prachanda Calls Oli a Fraudster
Just an hour and a half after Deuba praised Oli in Pokhara, Prachanda, speaking in Beni, Myagdi, called him a “fraudster” and a “deceiver.”
“The UML leader who is currently the Prime Minister has lied so much, deceived so much. He deceived me as well. You all know about heaven and hell,” Prachanda said. “He signs agreements and later denies them. Even when his photos are published in newspapers, he questions when they were taken. Can the country be happy when such a fraudulent person becomes the Prime Minister?”
Prachanda made this remark while referring to the agreement between Congress and UML in July 2024.
And he didn’t stop there. Prachanda further claimed that, despite the perception that Congress and UML formed the government together, the current government was actually created by middlemen, brokers, and commission agents. He sarcastically pointed out that meetings to form this government and coalition were held at the houses of businessmen like Binod Chaudhary and Rameshwar Thapa.
At one time (in 2020), Prachanda and Deuba had stood together against Oli’s actions. When Oli dissolved the Parliament, the Nepali Congress, Maoist Centre, Unified Socialist, and other parties opposed his unconstitutional move, leading to Deuba becoming Prime Minister. However, after the 2022 elections, UML and Maoist Centre once again formed a government together, with Oli playing a key role in making Prachanda the Prime Minister.
However, this cooperation didn’t last long. Prachanda shifted alliances between UML and Congress multiple times, creating instability. Eventually, in July 2024, Congress and UML came together again, leading to Oli becoming Prime Minister. Despite this, Prachanda continues to label the Congress-UML coalition government as unconstitutional and unnatural.
It is worth noting that in 2018, Oli and Prachanda had merged their parties—UML and Maoist Centre—to form a single party, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). However, their internal clashes led to the party’s eventual split