KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sushila Karki has said the government will not halt its crackdown on corruption, adding that both election preparations and anti-graft actions are being advanced in line with the spirit of the Gen-Z movement.
Speaking during a meeting with a delegation led by Sudan Kirati, Chair of the newly formed Pragatisheel Loktantrik Party, at Singha Durbar on Wednesday, PM Karki said the government remains committed to the reforms demanded by the youth uprising.
“We came here to work, and we are doing what we can. The youth have sacrificed a great deal for this movement, and we cannot back away under any pretext. We will not stop,” she said.
The Prime Minister stated that the government is simultaneously laying the groundwork for good governance while preparing for elections.
Clarifying the government’s position on corruption investigations, she said there was no need to form additional commissions when several state mechanisms already exist to handle such matters.
“We already have the CIAA, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, and the Central Investigation Bureau. These agencies may not have functioned effectively in the past due to political influence. We will exert no pressure on them. They must work independently,” she said, adding that creating parallel structures does not ensure results; rather, enabling existing bodies to work freely is the real priority.
PM Karki noted that the CIAA has recently accelerated its pace. “You must have read the news. Relevant agencies are now taking steps in major corruption cases involving influential individuals,” she said.
She also criticized the deep politicization that has permeated every sector, stating that such tendencies have held the country back.
“Politics has been done even in the name of farmers. Farmers don’t get fertilizer, but their leaders travel abroad, become ministers and MPs, and command party workers. Subsidized fertilizer, seeds, and loans are monopolized by a few,” she said. “The same pattern exists across professions—people abandon their trades to chase political influence. Corruption is rooted there too. How can a country progress in such an environment?”
PM Karki said the Gen-Z movement emerged to counter this very atmosphere, and emphasized that the upcoming election should send youth representatives to Parliament to institutionalize change.
Comment