Gagan Thapa Criticizes Government and Opposition Similarities

Kathmandu. Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa has made a sarcastic comment, stating that there is similarity in the working style of both the government and the opposition. He made this comment on Wednesday while participating in a climate awareness race organized in Lalitpur on the occasion of BP Koirala's memorial day, and later at a program. After completing the five-kilometer race organized to raise awareness about climate change without any break, Thapa referred to the recent statement of Prime Minister Balendra Shah. Earlier, during the first general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party in Chitwan, Prime Minister and RSP senior leader Balendra Shah had stated that the current government's vehicle has no 'brakes' and will only stop after reaching its destination. Targeting the same statement, Congress President Thapa compared the activism of the opposition to a race without 'brakes'. 'I ran five kilometers without stopping even for a moment,' said President Thapa, 'My friends who ran with me jokingly said – the one who runs the government has no brakes in the vehicle, and the one who runs the opposition has no brakes in the race, it matches exactly.' He said he took the comment lightly and replied, 'This time it's like this.' Thapa said that the issue of climate change should be made the main agenda of the country's development. He recalled that BP Koirala, although he did not use the word 'inclusive' at that time, practiced it successfully in practice. Discussing the concept of development, he mentioned that development without social justice, human welfare, and moral responsibility is meaningless. Recalling that BP Koirala had raised the issue of nationalization of forests and equitable access to natural resources many years ago, Thapa said that those visionary ideas should be embraced even in the present time. Clarifying the party's future direction, President Thapa said that today's Nepali Congress is optimistic about the future, but it is necessary to learn from history to chart the course of the future. He said that the party is committed to connecting the issue of climate change with the mainstream of development, based on the path shown by the elders and their ideas. 'Today we remembered the people's leader BP Koirala by connecting him with climate change,' said President Thapa, 'Whether BP Koirala used the term 'climate change' or not is a separate matter. But did BP Koirala use the word inclusive? He did not. He further said, 'When no woman in South Asia had the opportunity to participate in the government, BP Koirala taught us that democracy in Nepal cannot move forward without being inclusive, by including women in his own cabinet, making representatives from the Dalit community the general secretary of the party, and forming the parliament and cabinet by including all castes and linguistic groups.' Speaking on the issue of development, he added, 'When you talk about development, if you leave out social justice, if you leave out human welfare, if you leave out public welfare, if you leave out the issues of moral rights and moral responsibility, if you leave out the issue of foresight, and if you ignore the question of whether development is sustainable, then such development is meaningless.' According to him, BP Koirala not only discussed development many years ago but also practiced it himself. 'In BP Koirala's time, the idea was developed that forests should be nationalized, and natural resources – whether forests or land – should be treated with justice, and viewed with justice,' Thapa said, 'But we, the followers of BP, forgot those issues while engaging in the race for development much later.' Speaking about the party's future direction, Thapa said, 'Today the Nepali Congress wants to look ahead. Everyone present here today has come with faith in the future and in the Nepali Congress. But as we step towards the future, we know we must be honest in the present. And to learn, we must also look back to the past.' Mentioning that there is still much to learn from the paths and ideas shown by the elders, Thapa said, 'We want to make the issue of climate change a main issue of Nepal's development. For that, we want to look back once again at the ideas put forth and decisions made by our elders in the past.' With this thought, Thapa said that discussions were held with youth and experts on the occasion of the memorial day of the people's leader BP Koirala, and the party has gained a lot of knowledge and experience from this. He also expressed the commitment that the party will continue to use the suggestions and knowledge gained at the policy level and raise them at the appropriate time and place for practical implementation.