Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Gagan Thapa has said that the NC must take the lead in solving the country’s current problems, arguing that it is not possible for the UML to do so.
Claiming that the UML cannot solve the current problems or lead the nation, General Secretary Thapa remarked that the character of the NC is fundamentally different from that of the UML.
Speaking at the central working committee meeting on Thursday, Thapa presented his reasoning for why the NC is different from the UML.
According to Thapa, after the events of the Gen Z movement on September 8 and 9, the country has primarily three options.
“First, further polarization and more violence,” he said. “Second, returning to a slightly patched-up version of the situation before September 8.”
Thapa argued that neither of these would allow Nepal to move forward. He added, “We must take the third path. The third path means addressing and managing the current discontent while protecting the Constitution, and safeguarding the system. And this work must be done by the Nepali Congress. No one else can do it.”
Thapa further said, “The CPN-UML cannot do it. That is simply not its character. The UML can incite agitation, but it cannot solve the current problems.”
Recalling an episode from the time of the Constituent Assembly, he also compared the two parties' leaders.
He referred to the impression some people had that NC leaders should also speak like UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, and admitted that he, too, felt the same way in the past.
“At that time, KP Oli used to say, ‘We won’t back down. We have a two-thirds majority. We’ll show the Maoists.’ Our Sushil dai (Sushil Koirala) also used to speak, but what he spoke couldn’t even be understood properly. Back then, we thought leaders should be like Oli,” Thapa said.
However, it was under the NC’s leadership that the Maoists were brought into confidence and the Constitution was promulgated, he added.
“That is our character! Our character is not like the UML’s,” he said. “It isn’t difficult to be like the UML. It’s not difficult at all to provoke and challenge like the UML does. But would that solve the current situation?”
Thinking that the NC’s character is also the same would lead the party down the wrong path, he warned.
“That is not our character. We must hold national dialogue now. We need multiparty dialogue,” he said. “We must hold dialogue with all parties, the people involved in the Gen-Z movement, and the government. The Congress must do this.”
Highlighting that the 1990 movement brought democracy and the 2006 movement added proportional inclusivity to establish a democratic republican, he said the present moment has delivered a powerful message about corruption, good governance, and transparency.
“Add these new elements, we must now protect the Constitution, safeguard the system, and making improvements,” he said. “Now we will add new reforms. We will lead. We will handle this. This should be our language and tone.”
He then posed a question: “But while we say we must do this, are we trusted today?” This, he said, is the central issue at present, linking it to the party’s upcoming general convention.
“This is also the question of our general convention. Are we trusted today? Our moral authority used to be our greatest strength. Today, we have lost that moral authority,” he said. “Only if we stand in the right place can we tell others to do the same. The general convention is that opportunity.”
He said the party will conduct broad dialogue through the general convention, adding, “The party will tell the people: ‘This is not the same Congress. This is a different Congress. You are angry with me. I have listened to you, and I will correct these issues.’”
