KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma on Tuesday jointly called on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to step down and pave the way for a new national consensus.
In a strongly worded joint statement, the two leaders said the seven-point agreement that had tied their party to the government had lost its relevance and urged Congress ministers to withdraw immediately.
“The time for the seven-point understanding has expired. We have urged our party president to recall our ministers from government. If a decision is not taken immediately, we will be compelled to act through alternative processes,” the statement said.
The general secretaries accused Prime Minister Oli of ignoring repeated calls to correct the government’s course, both inside Parliament and in public forums, and of fueling public anger through his leadership style. They condemned Monday’s violent crackdown on Gen-Z protesters, which left 19 dead and hundreds injured.
“Gen-Z youth took to the streets not to demand positions, but to demand justice, open social media, curb corruption, uphold good governance. The government’s negligence forced bright young lives to end in brutal deaths. This repression is deplorable,” the statement read.
Thapa and Sharma also appealed directly to the Prime Minister: “Resign immediately and open the door for a ‘new national consensus.’”
At the same time, they urged Gen-Z protesters to continue their movement in a peaceful and restrained manner while assuring them of their support in pursuing just demands. They also called on all political parties to come together in open dialogue to find a calm and collective resolution to the crisis.
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