KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Thapa has said the party will not repeat past mistakes for the sake of power, stressing that coalition politics should not undermine democratic principles.
Speaking at the unveiling of a statue of veteran leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and the inauguration of the 44th BP Memorial Week in Lalitpur on Sunday, Thapa said provincial governments should not be formed in a way that leaves the provincial assembly without an effective opposition.
“When three parties come together to form a government, the provincial assembly is left without an opposition,” he said. “That goes against the people’s mandate, and the Nepali Congress will categorically reject such a proposal.”
Thapa said the emergence of a new generation of leaders and their meaningful participation in the party is inevitable. Noting that two generations before him and two generations after him are active within the party, he said the Nepali Congress, which once served as a unifying force across castes and languages, must now be capable of uniting different generations as well.
He maintained that the party would not compromise its principles for power. “We will not repeat the mistakes of the past for the sake of power,” he said.
Acknowledging that the Nepali Congress had made mistakes in the past in pursuit of power, Thapa expressed the party’s commitment not to follow the same path again.
“Since 2072 BS, politics has become unstable and directionless because of the mindset that treats power as everything,” he said. Thapa also criticized the practice of forming electoral alliances with one party and joining hands with another to form a government after the elections.
“The roles of the government and the opposition have become blurred due to this tendency,” he said. “Politics must now move forward on the basis of principles, democratic values, and respect for the people’s mandate.”
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