Next five years will be golden period for country, says Nepali Congress president Thapa

Kathmandu, Feb 26 (PTI) Nepali Congress president Gagan Kumar Thapa on Thursday said that the next five years would be a “golden period of change” in the country that goes to polls on March 5.

Addressing an election rally in Surkhet, the prime ministerial candidate of Nepali Congress (NC), said that the party will strive to bring a change in the country, making the five year period between 2026 to 2031 as the base period for change.

“The election of March 5 is an opportunity to bring change in the country. Congress will never let this opportunity go in vain,” Thapa said.

Stating that the Gen Z movement of September 8 and 9 should not be forgotten, he said that the NC supported the current Sushila Karki government for bringing the Constitution on track through the election.

He said the NC will work to ensure that Nepalis will get jobs in their home country and no one will have to spend a hefty amount for treatment.

Thapa admitted that the frequent changes of ruling coalition and governments in the past failed to speed up development and address people's aspirations.

Meanwhile, former prime minister and coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' said in the upcoming election, there will be “a competition between forces, one the extremist and the other progressive nationalist”.

Addressing a press meet at the party office in Kathmandu, he said, "Basically, three ideologies are in the fray — two extremists and one nationalist.” “By two extremist attitudes, I mean those who caused the murder of September 8 and have even today not taken moral responsibility for that and the other one is the force which caused the destruction of September 9,” he said.

"There is the third attitude which denounced both types of extremism and took a nationalist, progressive stand,” he said. "We, the NCP, represent the nationalist force," Prachanda added.

The mass Gen Z demonstrations erupted on September 8 and 9, leaving at least 77 people dead.

Angry over deaths, protesters burnt and vandalised key government buildings, including the Parliament, Prime Minister's Office and residence, Supreme Court, administrative offices and police posts across Nepal.

After K P Sharma Oli, the prime minister and chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), was forced to quit, President Ramchandra Paudel appointed Karki as the caretaker PM on September 12.

Prachanda said that the incident of killing of protesters was the result of the arrogance of the then ruling parties Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.

Dismissing rumours about electoral alliances that have surfaced on social media, the former prime minister said that the NCP has not formed any electoral alliance with any party nor will it do so.

Prachanda also claimed that the NCP will emerge as the largest political party after the election.

Nepal is set to hold the House of Representatives elections on March 5, the first since last year's deadly Gen-Z protests that toppled the Oli-led coalition government. PTI SBP GSP GSP