The lack of communication between political parties and Gen-G has ended after the situation that arose on 23-24 Bhadra. After a month and a half of the agitation, discussions were held between the government, political parties, and Gen-G representatives on Wednesday.

In a meeting held at the Prime Minister's official residence, Baluwatar, UML leader Mahesh Bartaula had cited Prime Minister Sushila Karki's old statement, arguing that the formation of the government and the dissolution of the House of Representatives were unconstitutional. In 2077 and 2078, when the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House of Representatives, former Chief Justice Karki had issued a statement to protest.

Prime Minister Karki has expressed dissatisfaction with the questions raised when former Chief Justices and former judges became Prime Ministers and Ministers. She cited the example of former Chief Justices and former judges becoming ministers and MPs in India and asked why questions were raised when they became Prime Ministers and Ministers in Nepal under unusual circumstances. Karki is a former Chief Justice, while Law Minister Anil Kumar Sinha is a former Supreme Court judge.

A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the formation of the Karki-led government and the dissolution of the House of Representatives, citing the constitutional provision that former Chief Justices and former judges cannot become Prime Ministers and Ministers. The debate on the writ petition has also begun in the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court since Wednesday.

Prime Minister Karki, expressing her opinion on the constitutional question raised against the government, said, ‘Here, the issue of judges was also raised. Questions were also raised regarding the dissolution of Parliament. Has the constitution prevented judges from becoming MPs, ministers, Prime Ministers, or Presidents? Is it written in the constitution that a person who has become a judge cannot contest elections? In India, judges have become MPs and ministers. Why is there a question when this is an unusual situation here? It is surprising.’

According to information provided by Prime Minister Karki’s secretariat, she also raised the issue of former Justice Sinha. ‘I brought him (Anil Kumar Sinha) (made him a minister) on my request. Having an honest and understanding person like him has made many things easier,’ she said.

Karki expressed her commitment that the government is doing good work and will continue to do such work in the coming days. Karki claimed that she would open corruption cases and take action against the guilty. ‘Look, what are we doing? We are opening files that were frozen yesterday. Some have already been arrested. We are arresting some. If they are found guilty of corruption, I am ready to take my late father and lock him in a cage. We have moved forward with that determination,' said Karki.

Karki also said that the government is focused on the elections. 'We are focused on the elections. We discuss and do homework like this every day. We take progress reports. We are working to resolve problems. We are breaking down mistrust and creating an environment of trust, raising confidence,' Karki told the leaders of political parties, 'The morale of the police will also increase. Escaped prisoners will also be caught. I see those who have been trying to lower morale for 35 years are now talking about morale. How do we raise morale that has been lowered by corruption, exploitation and discrimination in a single month? But, we are trying to raise morale, it will rise. Because, we are on the path to recovery.'

In the meeting, the Gen-G representatives clarified that they have not banned political parties and requested them to start preparing as the only option to give the country a way out is elections. ‘The Gen-G movement has only ended the legitimacy of the first generation of parties, not of political parties,’ Gen-G leader Rijan Rana Magar said in the meeting, ‘If there is a political generational transition, good people will be elected from political parties and Gen-G as well.’ 

In the meeting that lasted about 5 hours, the UML had maintained its stance on the restoration of the House of Representatives, while other parties had made it clear that they were ready to go to the elections. ‘All parties have said that elections are necessary to institutionalize the achievements of the Gen-G movement,’ Khemraj Saud, one of those who obtained permission from the District Administration Office during the Gen-G movement, told Kantipur. ‘The UML came up with the idea that the parliament should be restored, but we said that it is not possible.’ The Gen-G representatives have proposed that a commitment be expressed now, as the main responsibility for addressing the movement’s agenda will be with the new government that will come after the elections. ‘We said that there should be an agreement between the government and the protesters to institutionalize the demands of the Gen-G movement,’ said Monica Niraula of the Gen-G Movement Alliance. ‘Everyone supported it. Since the agenda of the movement is not an issue that can be carried only by the interim government, we said that political parties should also be witnesses to it.’

In the meeting, party representatives raised the issue of vandalism and arson on public and private property on 24 Bhadra. The Gen-G leaders, on the other hand, had questioned the party leaders about how the situation in which the youth lost their lives in the shooting a day earlier came about. ‘The leaders talked a lot about the material damage, and the material damage is also a sad thing. But while doing that, we also reminded them of the human damage,’ said Gen-G leader Niraj Magar, ‘We gave our opinion on how the situation on 24 Bhadra came about.’ 

Gen-G leader Raksha Bam said that everyone knows why the 23 Bhadau movement took place, saying, "We were looking for good governance, in return, the government would have become autocratic, the bullets that rained down on unarmed students have also made it clear what actions that autocratic government could take to protect its dictatorship." She said that ever since Gen-G started seeking the role of the government for the people, the absence of the government started to hurt and they were forced to take to the streets. Gen-G leader Niraula also recalled that the situation of 23 Bhadau was created due to the disappointment, disillusionment and activities of the people for years.

Sagar Dhakal, who participated in the meeting on behalf of Gen-G, had expressed the view that the elections should be made technology-friendly. He had emphasized that those living abroad and in other districts in the country should also be given the right to vote, and that improved elections should be held. After the Baluwatar meeting, he told reporters, "There are voters from Bhojpur and Taplejung in Kathmandu. How can they go there to vote? Corruption starts from the moment they are taken there." Dhakal said that he had also prepared a report on 'i-voting' and 'IBM voting', mentioning that there was a discussion recently on making arrangements for those abroad to vote in Bangladesh. "We said that elections should be technology-friendly," he told Kantipur. 

In the meeting, UML leader Mahesh Bartaula had expressed the view that the House of Representatives should be restored to resolve the current political crisis. He argued that the demands of Gen-G, including constitutional amendment and ending corruption, can be addressed from the parliament. 'The constitution is currently injured. The country is heading towards an undemocratic path. In such a situation, all political issues can be resolved through the restoration of the parliament,' he said. Bartaula informed Kantipur that he had raised the issue of restoring the parliament and going for a new mandate in the meeting. 

Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa stated that the party is committed to going to the elections and said that they will fully support the government in creating an environment for that. He said in the meeting, ‘There is a concern about peace and security, but we will fully support the government in creating an environment. We cannot say that we will not go to the elections under any pretext.’ Thapa informed Kantipur that he believed that the commitment of all political parties, Gen-G and the government is necessary for the work to be done by the House of Representatives after the 21 Falgun elections to establish good governance and end corruption. ‘After the 2062/63 agitation, we had made some commitments on the issues to be addressed by the new parliament and the work was done accordingly. This time too, what should the parliament that comes tomorrow do on issues related to good governance? I have proposed that we should make a broader understanding between the Gen-G agitators and political parties,’ he said. ‘While we are talking about elections now, we should all be aware that the issue of good governance raised in the Gen-G agitation should not be left out.’

Maoist leader Barshaman Pun said in the meeting that the party supports the demands of the Gen-G. ‘When we were in the government or opposition, we worked on good governance and corruption control, we raised our voices. That is why we and Gen-G are close in the agenda of controlling corruption and maintaining good governance,’ he said, ‘That is why we have our support in the movement and afterwards.’ Even the leaders of the Unified Socialist Party claimed that they have been raising the demands put forward by Gen-G in the past as well. United Socialist Party leaders Rajendra Pandey and Prakash Jwala said that the election is the only option at the moment and that all parties should create an environment for a rigged, free and fair election without any hesitation. 

Leader Jwala informed that he had put forward the idea of ​​bringing the constitution on track and implementing it through the election in the meeting. ‘We said that the new parliament will amend the constitution in accordance with the mandate to address the issues raised by the general public and Gen-G in the movement,’ he said. RSP leader Nisha Dangi had expressed the view that the government and all stakeholders should move forward to hold the election on time. "But before the elections, everyone should reach an understanding on how to maintain good governance. Elections are expensive, which is why there is no environment for young people to contest the elections," she said. "We should find a way to reduce the expenses incurred in the elections." 

Doubts over peace and security 

Although parties other than the UML appear to be in favor of going to the elections, they have raised questions about the peace and security situation. They said that there is an atmosphere of fear, especially with prisoners who escaped from prisons across the country on 24 Bhadra and weapons looted at that time still outside. 

Congress General Secretary Thapa urged the government to be serious about the security challenges posed by prisoners who escaped from prisons and weapons seized from the police. He also raised the issue of the capacity of the Election Commission and the challenges that the weather will bring when the elections are held in Falgun. "The post of Chief Election Commissioner is currently vacant, and the capacity of the Election Commission has also been questioned," Thapa said. "The elections in Falgun were not held in Nepal due to the weather, and the government must take this into account in a timely manner."