Kathmandu, Aug. 19 -- drinking campaign is brewing inside the CPN-UML after Chairman KP Sharma Oli used the words 'awara' and 'uranthheula' for party leaders and activists calling for changes in policy and leadership. Both of these are derogatory Nepali words-awara, derived from the Persian language, translates roughly to 'aimless drifter; while uranthheula means immature or frivolous.

On Tuesday afternoon, several senior UML leaders were laughing over tea at the party's Chyasal canteen in Lalitpur. The ordinary act of ordering tea had become politically charged after Oli said that some people sitting in the party office canteen and discussing his removal were awara and uranthheula.

Oli's remarks have angered leaders seeking an overhaul...