Kathmandu, July 5 -- When Rajib Gurung, a provincial assembly member from Gandaki, entered the Nepal Communist Party, Chief Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung tried to compare him with Chu Teh, a Chinese general and one of the pioneers of the Communist Party of China.

"Chu Teh was a warlord," said the chief minister, who has close relations with Prime Minister and party Co-chair KP Sharma Oli. "When the communist party talked to him, he wanted to contribute to the Chinese people's war. He said he wanted to fight for the liberation of the people. Then he became the third greatest leader of China."

Rajib Gurung, also known as Dipak Manange, has a chequered past and criminal history, and his entry into the ruling party has not gone down well wi...