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CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that leadership cannot be simply handed as a gift.

During a press meet organized by the Press Center Banke at Nepalgunj today, he said the party believes in the production of leaders through a system and practices it accordingly.

He said he is not an irreplaceable figure to hold the chair post within the party and is focused on preparing his successor through a system.

He also took the opportunity to assure that the party will remain united, dismissing rumors of a possible split.

The erstwhile Prime Minister also accused the two largest parties: the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML of forcefully toppling the government led by him, though he was performing 'well'.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the green hydrogen production and refueling center set up at the Kathmandu University (KU) in Dhulikhel today.

He also unveiled a green hydrogen-fueled car with registration number plate Ba 1 Jha 1111 on the occasion of the 29th Convocation Ceremony of KU. The Prime Minister rode on the same car to the Convocation venue.

On the occasion, PM Oli described construction of the green hydrogen production and refueling station operated by KU as an exemplary work. "Not only in KU such type of innovative works should be carried out in other places as well," said PM Oli, who is also the Chancellor of KU.

He recalled that he had initiated discussions and study for the production of green hydrogen and wind power when he was the Prime Minister before this. "Good work has started now and it should be expanded to other places. Particularly, the first priority should be given to vehicles," he added.

Chief of KU's Nepal Hydrogen Initiatives, Associate Professor Biraj Singh Thapa said the green hydrogen has been produced by processing electricity with water.

KU, which had been carrying out study and research on the production and use of green hydrogen fuel since the last two years, produced green hydrogen for the first time on April 2, 2023. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) had provided financial assistance to KU for the production of green hydrogen fuel and for operating hydrogen-fueled cars.

A car manufactured by Hyundai Company was brought from South Korea last November with the support of NOC. The hydrogen refueling center has been installed at the university campus with the assistance of technicians of a Korean green hydrogen production company.

The NOC had provided Rs 50 million to KU for this. From this amount, the university remodeled the car at an investment of 33 thousand USD and built the refueling center at a cost of Rs 13 million.

Associate Professor Thapa said hydrogen is produced through electrolysis of water, which is then converted into dry hydrogen, purified and stored in a low-pressure tank. The hydrogen in the low-pressure tank is filled in the car fuel tank through the high-pressure tank.

KU stated that on an average two kg of hydrogen is produced daily at the hydrogen refill center for study and research (test) purposes. Ten liters of water and 40-45 units of electricity is required for producing one kg hydrogen. Six kg hydrogen can be filled in the car brought at the university. The car can travel 650 kilometers when the hydrogen fuel is filled at full capacity.

KU also has the goal of preparing a pilot project for setting up a hydrogen refueling center with a capacity to refuel 30 to 35 hydrogen-fuelled cars.

It is said that this is the first initiative in the country at producing hydrogen for operating transport.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has stressed on the need to bring yoga into wider use and practice.

At the self-awakening program organized by the Jeevan Vigyan Sanstha (Life Science Institute) for the federal parliamentarians today, he said that a yoga-based society helps in achieving peace, happiness and prosperity.

Prime Minister Oli also urged one and all to follow the discipline and make a positive change in the society.

"We should work with the sacred spirit that I do not engage in violence; I do not tell lies; I do not covet the rights and property of others; I do not involve in corruption," said Prime Minister Oli, adding, "We should not be anarchic and ill-mannered, we should expand the yoga started by Nepalese ancestors thousands of years ago from this land."

Reiterating that yoga and meditation keep the heart and brain healthy, PM Oli said that is why yoga should be given special importance.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, chairman of the National Assembly, leaders of various parties, and lawmakers participated in the program.

Ramesh Nepal conducted the yoga session for the participants.

This week Ashok Raj Sigdel was appointed as the 45th Chief of the Nepali Army. He will be in charge effective from Sept 9. His predecessor, Prabhu Ram Sharma, had an average performance. During his tenure, Sharma effectively suppressed the debate on the need to right-size the Nepali Army, even causing senior politicians to backtrack on their positions. Sharma publicly accused certain individuals of deliberately fueling this debate to weaken the army.

The Nepali Army generally shows minimal interest in involving itself in politics, and politicians are typically eager to support any proposals the army puts forward. As a result, the appointment of the army chief has become a routine process, lacking the disagreements that are often seen in the Nepal Police. However, in recent years, senior army officials have faced increased scrutiny for allegedly manipulating key documents such as citizenship and educational certificates. This situation highlights the need for systematic investigations into these issues. Moreover, civilian oversight of the Nepal Army has weakened significantly, and media coverage of the army’s transparency has dwindled.

Talking about appointments, Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha is set to retire next month, but there have been no preparations to recommend a new chief justice or fill the remaining judicial vacancies. The Nepal Bar Association this week urged the government to initiate the process. In recent years, Nepal’s judiciary has become highly politicized, leading to a loss of public trust in some cases.

In another story this week, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s directive to senior home ministry officials to facilitate the process of issuing citizenship to Prakash Tamang sparked a debate about government functioning. Any Nepali citizen can typically acquire citizenship from the district administration office without difficulty. However, the incident underscores the challenges Nepali citizens face in accessing basic government services and indicates a need for systemic reforms to ensure that eligible citizens can obtain citizenship without undue hassle.

This week, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal remained in the national spotlight. He expressed regret over breaking the alliance with the Nepali Congress (NC) last March and stated that his party would not passively witness the government’s misconduct. Dahal also warned the leaders of both the CPN-UML and NC not to approach him for support if their alliance encountered challenges. Despite publicly stating his reluctance to re-enter government, Dahal’s actions suggest otherwise. He has already begun forming alliances with fringe communist parties, positioning himself for future political maneuvering.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit, scheduled for Sept 3-4, has been postponed due to political developments in the host country, Thailand. Prime Minister Oli was expected to attend the summit and meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now, preparations are underway for Oli to visit New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, though it is unclear whether he will meet with US officials during his visit. There have been no updates on a potential visit to India, but after Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba’s meeting with Modi, Oli may be eager to meet with the Indian prime minister. Since the formation of the Oli-led government, there have been high-level exchanges with India and the US, but no visits to or from Beijing.

Onto politics, the ruling Nepali Congress plunged into another internal conflict this week. Senior leaders such as Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma have taken positions advocating for term limits for prime ministers and ministers. Thapa insists that the party should officially decide not to forge any electoral alliances in the upcoming general elections. Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba, however, believes that these issues should be settled at the party’s general convention in 2026, just before the general elections. Another senior leader, Shekhar Koirala, has warned the party leadership not to delay the convention, noting that the NC has historically struggled to hold its conventions on time.

Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba also became a subject of discussion this week within Nepal’s political circles, especially within the NC. Her recent meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi during her visit to India has led to the speculation within the NC that this meeting could signal India’s endorsement of Arzu as a future leader of the NC and potentially as a future prime minister of Nepal. Over the past few years, her husband and NC President, Deuba, has elevated her position within both the party and national politics.

This week CPN (Unified Socialist), a splinter group of the CPN-UML, elected 16 office bearers through a ballot. While Madhav Kumar Nepal was unanimously continued as party chair, there were disputes over the office bearers. Ram Kumari Jhakri, a youth leader prominent since the 2006 people’s movement, was defeated in the intra-party elections, leading to speculation that she might join the CPN-UML. Jhakri was one of the leaders who strongly opposed Oli’s dissolution of Parliament in 2020, and she worked closely with Nepal during the party split in 2021. There are also talks of a possible party unification between the Maoist Center and CPN (Unified Socialist), indicating that factionalism is a common trend in Nepal’s political landscape, even among fringe parties.

Another notable story this week was Prime Minister Oli facing questions from lawmakers in Parliament, including one related to America’s State Partnership Program (SPP), which has been pending for several years. Oli told Parliament that there has been no fresh proposal from the American side regarding the SPP. The previous government, led by Deuba, had informed the US that Nepal could no longer implement the SPP program. As usual, the Prime Minister Oli also faced questions about the details of the constitution amendment proposal.

A parliamentary committee investigating irregularities in cooperatives grilled Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane this week. Lamichhane denied any involvement in the embezzlement of cooperative funds during his time working at a television channel.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Bin Hamood Albusidi also visited Nepal this week to discuss bilateral cooperation. The two sides discussed finalizing a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering labor and manpower exchange, health cooperation, tourism, and diplomatic studies and training. 

That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend!