Kathmandu: The ruling Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) has expelled former Vice Chairman Bhim Rawal from the party over disciplinary issues. A decision was made during a secretariat meeting held on Wednesday, which officially ousted Rawal from the party ranks.
The move comes after Rawal, a former vice president, failed to respond to a request for clarification regarding his controversial remarks about the donation of land by businessman Min Bahadur Gurung for the construction of the party’s new office. The party had sought an explanation from Rawal on November 5, but sources indicated that he refused to provide the clarification.
In addition to Rawal’s expulsion, the CPN-UML secretariat meeting also decided to suspend two other party leaders—Standing Committee member Binda Pandey and Central Committee member Usha Kiran Timsina—for six months. Both Pandey and Timsina have been accused of breaching party discipline by speaking out against the party on multiple occasions.