KATHMANDU: Injured participants of the Gen-Z movement have begun surrounding Singha Durbar almost daily. After staging a sit-in at the southern gate on Friday, the protesters continued their demonstrations and chants on Sunday as well.
Unable to enter through the south gate, the group held their sit-in outside. Many arrived carrying medical reports or walking with crutches, still recovering from injuries sustained during the September 8-9 protests.
The injured protesters said they wanted to meet Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal and Prime Minister Sushila Karki. They submitted a memorandum to Minister Aryal and shouted slogans both while entering and leaving government offices. They also criticized Hami Nepali coordinator Sujan Gurung, labeling him “opportunistic.”
The demonstrators accused Sudan Gurung and others of hijacking the movement and seeking positions in the Karki-led interim government. One female protester who was shot during the demonstrations said true sacrifices were being sidelined while opportunists were being rewarded, tarnishing the Gen-Z name.
After raising slogans, police placed the protesters in a van and moved them away from the area. However, a group of the injured was later taken to the Prime Minister’s Office, where they held a one-and-a-half-hour meeting with PM Karki.
During the meeting, the injured—including Sushila Gautam, Rubina Khadka, Aditya Rawal, Suresh Adi, Gokarna Bishwakarma, Prakash Dahal, Lokendra Khadka, Champa Lama, Bhuvan Dahal, Anil Das, and Badal Rai—demanded action against former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and then Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Chhabi Rijal.
They also demanded investigations into the burnt cash found at Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s residence, free treatment and compensation for all injured, and the repeal of the 2015 constitution.
Meanwhile, as the cabinet meeting chaired by PM Karki began at 4:30 pm, Sudan Gurung, accused by protesters of hijacking the movement, was seen entering the Prime Minister’s Office.
Karki is preparing to appoint seven more ministers, and Gurung, once a volunteer during the protests at Maitighar, is now believed to be playing an influential role in government formation and ministerial selection.
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