KATHMANDU: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader and then Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah, also known as Balen, has stated that he did not support the Gen-Z protest.
Before the high-level commission led by former Justice Gauri Bahadur Karki, formed to study the Gen-Z movement, Balen said he supported the rally but was not involved in the protest itself.
“On September 8 and 9, 2025, I was at the government residence in Lainchaur. I supported the peaceful rally on September 8, but I was not part of the protest,” Balen’s written statement to the commission read.
He also said that at the request of the President and the Army Chief, he helped calm the protest and added that the then-government and participating political parties should take full responsibility for all the damage.
“The then-government carried out criminal and terrorist activities, and the entire responsibility for the damage must be borne by the government and participating parties,” Balen told the commission.
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