Kathmandu, April 17 -- Amid growing public discontent with the government and a widening rift between the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, top leaders of the two ruling parties on Wednesday tried to dispel the "rumours".

Speaking after a meeting of the political mechanism involving the two parties on Wednesday, the leaders said that relations between the coalition partners remain intact and cordial.

Some senior Nepali Congress leaders like General Secretary duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, and senior leader Shekhar Koirala, have been expressing concern over the poor government performance and publicly attacking the government, ministers, and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The meeting of the cross-party mechanism formed to supp...