Gen-G has said that to protect and strengthen the republic, changes in leadership style, political culture, and democratic practices within the party are needed more than new faces.

On the second day of the Kantipur Conclave, in the session ‘New Voice of the Republic’, they concluded that individual-centric politics has weakened democracy and pointed out the need for political practice based on values, methods and processes.

The session, which was facilitated by Kantipur activist Daya Dudraj, featured Gen-G activists Raksha Bam, Majid Ansari, Pradeep Gyawali and Ajay Kushwaha.

Gen-G activist Bam said that ‘new’ does not mean replacing a face or person, but a change in thinking, behavior and leadership culture. ‘We do not want to replace one KP Oli with another,’ she said, ‘We need reforms within the party, only when the party’s democracy is strong will the country’s democracy be strong.’

According to her, centralized power, intolerant tendencies and discomfort with criticism have been prevailing within the parties for a long time. She says that this is why the young generation is forced to take to the streets in frustration. ‘The time has come to change the political culture,’ she said, ‘We had demanded changes in line with our age.’

She was also questioned on the issue of proposals from various parties to become candidates in the elections. She made it clear that she considers the streets closer to her than the parliament. ‘I am still learning something, politics is my personal matter,’ she said, ‘I am grateful for the proposals made by various parties, but my intention was not to contest the elections.’

She explained the streets as an effective place to protect democratic values ​​and norms. ‘The streets are close to me. The streets always keep questions alive,’ she said, ‘When you stay on the streets and ask questions and demand transparency, it becomes stronger.’

She expressed her opinion on the role of leaders, saying, ‘People have leaders, not bosses. Leaders should not become bosses. If they want to be leaders of the people, they should go among the people themselves, not be sought by the people.’ She said that democracy weakens when the leadership is distant from the people.

Disagreeing with the accusation that the Gen-G generation lacks political awareness, Raksha said that citizen-level political awareness is the backbone of democracy. ‘The issues that Gen-G took to the streets cannot be achieved with a small political awareness,’ she said. ‘They came to the movement for good governance, to see their future in their own country.’

According to her, it is not necessary for all citizens to be politicians, but being an aware citizen is essential for democracy. ‘Not everyone needs to have the awareness of a politician,’ she said. ‘But the Gen-G generation has citizen-level political awareness, and that awareness will protect the republic.’

Other speakers participating in the session also said that the Gen-G movement was not an attempt to seize power but a struggle to strengthen the federal democratic republic in practice. They concluded that the republic cannot be institutionalized without internal democracy, transparency, inclusiveness and accountability within the party.

Gen-G activist Majid Ansari said that the republic would be meaningless unless democracy is linked to the lives of the people. ‘Going to Mukulung and Pathibhara and taking photos does not respect the people there,’ he said, ‘Democracy that does not listen to and does not count the people of the land will not work.’

According to him, the current debate should focus on ‘New Values’ rather than ‘New People’. ‘Democracy should not be limited to arithmetic,’ he said, ‘How the government listens to the voice of the majority and protects the rights of the minority is the measure of democracy.’

Ansari commented that despite the general convention, special general convention and unity of the major parties, there has been no work to strengthen democracy. Accusing that the rights granted by the constitution have been curtailed through laws, he accused the bills related to information technology, police and personnel of being an attempt to regress.’

Expressing disagreement with the incident of burning Singha Durbar, Ansari said that action should be taken against the culprits. ‘A movement is necessary,’ he said, ‘but it must be democratic.’ National Independent Party leader and Gen-G activist Pradeep Gyawali said that the debate between the new and the old should not be understood superficially. ‘Being new does not mean erasing history,’ he said, ‘Being new is being able to show a new path while respecting the pages of history.’

Recounting his experience in political practice, he presented a realistic picture of vote buying in the village. Explaining that the party entered politics to institutionalize the issues of the movement, he said, ‘There is a risk of losing the issue by forming different governments. These issues can be institutionalized only by staying within the party.’ Raising the issue of being accused of being a terrorist or a foreign broker, he reminded past agitators that similar accusations were made.