Banking News – Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa has prepared a political report to be presented at the party’s 15th General Convention. In the report, which covers the Congress’s political, ideological, organizational, and economic direction for the next four years, topics including the party’s past self-criticism, warning to the government, policy of not forming pre-election alliances, organizational restructuring, collaboration with the private sector, and youth participation have been raised with priority.

The report acknowledges that in the last two decades, the Congress has given more priority to positions and power than to its original objectives. Noting that the politics of alliance management, division of spoils, factionalism, and deal-making weakened the party’s moral foundation, the conclusion has been drawn that the tendency to protect one’s own people in cases of corruption and irregularities has affected the autonomy of public institutions.

The report also contains self-criticism that the party’s distance from the younger generation has been increasing and that changing expectations and aspirations of citizens could not be addressed in time. It states that to improve this, a new resolve for party reform has been put forward through the Second Special General Convention, apologizing to the people.

The report has proposed a clear policy that the Congress will not form pre-election alliances in the upcoming elections. It expresses the view that the party must compete in elections based on its own strength, ideas, and organization. Similarly, keeping the long-term national goal of “Prosperous Nepal, Respected Nepali” at the center, economic development, employment generation, good governance, social justice, and strengthening of democratic values have been put forward as the Congress’s main working direction. The report to be presented at the General Convention is being viewed as the Congress’s future political roadmap.

These Are the 29 Main Points Covered in the Report

1. Congress’s Historic Contribution and Self-Criticism

The report acknowledges the political movements of 2007, 2046, and 2062/63 and the achievements of constitution drafting as the Congress’s historic contribution.

However, noting that in the last two decades the party became focused on positions and power rather than objectives, the conclusion has been drawn that the politics of alliance, division of spoils, factionalism, and deal-making weakened the Congress’s moral foundation.

The report contains self-criticism that the tendency to protect one’s own people in corruption and irregularities weakened the autonomy of public institutions and increased the party’s distance from the younger generation.

2. The Bhadau 23/24 Public Uprising and Congress’s Defeat

The report states that the Bhadau 23 and 24 public uprising should not be dismissed merely as a conspiracy. It acknowledges that the demand for good governance, opportunity, and fairness was the citizens’ legitimate dissatisfaction.

Noting that it is also wrong for the new political force to try to take sole ownership of the movement, the report proposes an impartial investigation into the state’s use of force, violence, loss of life and property, and suppression. The report states that the guilty must face legal action and victims must be ensured truth, justice, and compensation.

The Congress’s defeat in the Falgun 21 election has been reviewed as a result of increasing citizen distance and political weakness over the last two decades. Accepting the people’s mandate, the Congress has expressed commitment to fulfilling the responsible role of the main opposition.

3. New Opposition Role

The report proposes that the Congress, with 38 seats, must effectively monitor the government in parliament. It states that the government’s activities should be questioned based on evidence and facts, voices should be raised against corruption, rights violations, and misgovernance, and alternative policies and national direction should be presented rather than just criticism.

There is also a proposal to practice a “shadow government” to monitor government ministries at the federal and provincial levels, prioritizing long-term national issues over daily political disputes.

4. New Policy on Elections and Alliances

Thapa has proposed not forming alliances with any party before the upcoming elections. The proposal is to go to the people with one’s own election symbol, one’s own candidates, and one’s own agenda, and to prioritize merit, contribution, and performance over faction, access, and protection in candidate selection.

Commitment has been made to give importance to primary elections, public opinion surveys, and direct member votes in candidate selection, and not to change membership rules at the last moment to influence the convention or candidacy.

5. Congress’s Ideological Renewal

While continuing nationalism, democracy, and democratic socialism as the party’s fundamental ideological basis, a proposal has been made to renew thought according to the needs of the 21st century and changing socio-economic conditions.

There is a proposal to connect nationalism not just to geography and slogans but to national capacity in energy, food, technology, and finance, and to connect democracy not just to elections but to real participation in citizens’ decision-making processes and public power.

There is a proposal to connect BP Koirala’s socialist vision with a modern social market economy and to connect Pradeep Giri’s study, debate, self-criticism, and the issues of excluded communities with the party’s ideological tradition.

6. ‘Prosperous Nepal, Respected Nepali’

The report states that economic growth rate alone should not be taken as the measure of prosperity. There is a proposal to make citizen capacity building, access to opportunities, and co-creation the main working method of prosperity, making education, health, nutrition, skills, capacity, and citizens’ real freedoms the basis of development.

There is a proposal to advance development not by the government alone but in collaboration with citizens, communities, the private sector, cooperatives, universities, and experts, and to clarify results and responsibility in important state decisions.

7. Five-Question Accountability System

A system has been proposed to seek answers to five questions in every important government and public decision. What was the decision? Why was it made? Whose responsibility is it? What was the result? If the expected result was not achieved, what was improved?

There is a proposal to make these five questions the basis of public accountability.

8. Open-Source Citizen Dashboard

A proposal has been made to develop a digital system through which citizens can directly view details of development projects, budget expenditure, and responsible officials.

There is a proposal to institutionalize real-time monitoring of government work and citizen oversight by making public details of which project has reached where, how much was spent, and who is responsible for it.

9. Economy and Private Sector

A proposal has been made to accept the private sector not just as a source of tax collection but as the main engine of wealth creation, production, innovation, and employment.

There is a proposal to ensure the protection of private investment and policy stability, create an easy environment for doing business, and move the relationship between the government and the private sector from regulation and tax collection toward cooperation and partnership.

A proposal has been made to keep production, enterprise, and employment expansion at the center of economic policy, transform remittances into productive investment in agriculture, industry, tourism, and technology, and make water resources and clean energy the basis of industrialization and green energy exports.

10. Pre-Distributive Justice

Instead of seeking solutions through taxes and subsidies only after inequality has increased, the concept of “pre-distributive justice” of making opportunities equal from the beginning has been put forward.

An economic policy has been proposed to make citizens’ initial condition itself just by ensuring equal access to education, health, skills, finance, and employment.

11. Employment and Foreign Employment

There is a proposal to make the expansion of production and dignified employment within the country a national priority and make foreign employment not just a compulsion but safe, organized, and rights-oriented.

There is a proposal to include the rights and social security of migrant Nepalis in policy, create an environment for investing remittances from abroad in productive sectors, and create economic opportunities for youth to build their future within the country.

12. Migration and Population

The report states that declining population in the hills, increasing migration in the Terai and highway areas, and increasing pressure in large cities must be addressed in different ways.

There is a proposal to make development plans according to actual settlement, movement, and service demands rather than administrative boundaries, and to make education, health, housing, transportation, and social security policies according to the new Nepali lifestyle connected to villages, cities, and abroad.

A proposal has also been made to connect issues of children, senior citizens, and caregiving to state policy along with changing family structures.

13. Agriculture, Industry, and Production

A proposal has been made to move from an economy dependent on imports and remittances toward a production-oriented economy. There is a proposal to make agriculture, water resources, energy, tourism, industry, and digital technology the main bases of economic growth and connect agriculture with modern technology, markets, and enterprise.

A proposal has been made to transform remittances into agricultural and industrial investment, and provide policy protection and facilitation to the private sector that creates production and employment.

14. Climate Change and Green Development

There is a proposal to view climate change not just as an environmental issue but as an issue of economic and national security. The concept of intergenerational justice has been put forward, connecting disaster risk with development plans, infrastructure, and settlement development, using natural resources sustainably, and ensuring that today’s development does not take away the rights of future generations. A proposal has been made to connect green energy, water resources, and environmental protection with economic opportunities.

15. Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Noting that artificial intelligence and digital technology are changing the nature of employment, education, knowledge, and competition, there is a proposal that Nepal must prepare not just for the use of technology but for the new opportunities it creates.

A proposal has been made to make the education and skills system suitable for new technology and promote media literacy and fact-based dialogue against misinformation and hatred spreading in the digital age.

16. Social Sector

There is a proposal to connect the Congress with continuous social campaigns on issues of caste discrimination, child marriage, gender-based violence, malnutrition, education, health, and the environment. A proposal has been made to make public education and health the basis of equal opportunity among citizens, strengthen social security for senior citizens, children, women, and vulnerable communities, and include mental health, loneliness, and changing family structures in the state’s long-term policy.

17. Federalism and Constitution

Acknowledging that although the structure of federalism has been created, its effectiveness is still weak, the report states that effective coordination between federal, provincial, and local levels is necessary. A proposal has been made to improve administrative capacity and fiscal federalism, and connect federalism not just to administrative division but to local dignity, citizen participation, and access to services. The report states that the debate on constitutional amendment should be based on national consensus rather than immediate power equations.

18. Transitional Justice

There is a proposal to complete the remaining work of the peace process and ensure truth, justice, and compensation for conflict victims. It states that transitional justice should not be made a means of political division of spoils or power equations but should center on victims’ trust and institutional credibility.

19. National Sovereignty and Changing World

There is a proposal to increase national capacity in energy, food, finance, technology, and knowledge, not limiting national sovereignty to formal sovereignty alone. A proposal has been made to expand diplomatic options while maintaining Nepal’s independent decision-making capacity in changing geopolitical competition and advance foreign policy based on national interest. Emphasis has been placed on viewing internal economic capacity and external relations in connection with each other.

20. New Concept of National Reconciliation

A proposal has been made to develop BP Koirala’s national reconciliation not just as a political compromise but as a basis of socio-cultural unity.

There is a proposal to strengthen a shared Nepali identity among the Himalayas, hills, Terai, diaspora, various religions, cultures, and communities, and prioritize coexistence, dialogue, and democratic culture amid diversity.

21. Organizational Reform and Five-Generation Journey

A proposal has been made to make the Congress an organization continuously connected to citizens, not just a party active during elections. There is a proposal to make membership, participation, and internal democracy transparent, connect the experience of the old generation with the energy and knowledge of the new generation, and open an institutional path for leadership transfer among five generations.

Proposals have been made to establish a “Leadership Training Institute” for activist and youth leadership development, a “Policy Institute” for policy research, an “Election Bureau” for election preparation, and a “Governance Institute” to support people’s representatives in policy, budget, and good governance.

22. Anti-Corruption and Internal Discipline Within the Party

There is a proposal to apply high moral standards for party officials and people’s representatives and make financial transparency and public audit mandatory. A proposal has been made not to protect even one’s own people in corruption, apply a clear suspension process for individuals accused of corruption, and form an independent internal “Ombudsman” to investigate conduct and corruption within the party.

23. Public Commitment on ‘What We Will Not Do’

A proposal has been made that the Congress will no longer engage in partisan division of spoils in the judiciary, constitutional bodies, universities, and administration. There is a proposal to make a public commitment not to use public property and rights for the benefit of a party, faction, or individual, not to give opportunities based on money, access, and closeness to leaders, not to treat one’s own people differently in corruption, and not to change rules at the last moment to postpone conventions or influence candidacies.

24. Two Terms for Prime Minister

A proposal has been made to initiate a constitutional provision that no individual can remain Prime Minister for more than two terms. The report contains a proposal to determine the term limit of the Prime Minister to stop long-term personal grip on power and leadership.

25. Election Reform

Proposals have been made to use the primary system in candidate selection, the possibility of a “None of the Above” option, and legal and constitutional initiatives to give voting rights to Nepalis abroad. There is a proposal to make elections more participatory, transparent, and representative by debating options including rotating reserved constituencies and other electoral system reforms.

26. Perpetual Fund for Martyrs, Injured, and Displaced

A proposal has been made to establish a Rs 10 crore perpetual fund for the education and health support of martyr families, injured, and displaced activists. The proposal to arrange long-term protection for families contributing to the party’s political movements has also been included in the report.

27. Special Arrangements for Youth

A proposal has been made to form a special task force including independent youth experts to study the dissatisfaction and demands of the Gen Z generation. There is a proposal to mandatorily apply the task force’s recommendations in the party’s policy-making, keep youth participation and leadership development at the center of party renewal, and increase youth participation in policy-making and party decisions through digital means.

28. Timeline for ‘Samunnati’ Implementation

The report has also proposed a timeline for implementing the concept of “Samunnati.” Proposals include conducting a political and organizational review from 2062/63 to 2082 within the first 100 days, starting the review process in all seven provinces, publishing the first “Samunnati Policy Paper,” and preparing a record of community contributions.

Proposals include forming provincial-level task forces on education, nutrition, employment, good governance, and green development in the first year, starting citizen dialogue and public service monitoring, and taking policies and programs to implementation at the provincial level.

There is a proposal to make public clear criteria for candidate selection before the election, make community work, moral conduct, and performance the basis of candidacy, and advance the primary election process. Similarly, there is a proposal to conduct internal reviews every three months, publish a public “Samunnati Report” every year, and evaluate four-year leadership based on the implementation of policies and commitments.

29. The Report’s Core Message

The political report prepared by Thapa has connected the Congress’s renaissance not just to leadership change or organizational reshuffling but to political culture, economic policy, the private sector, employment, social security, federalism, good governance, youth participation, technology, climate, and national sovereignty.

The report’s core concept is “National Renaissance and Samunnati.” The report has set the goal of accepting past weaknesses, reducing distance from citizens, strengthening democratic institutions, increasing production and employment through collaboration with the private sector, and converting the party’s policies and commitments into measurable results. With a proposal to develop a system of regularly reviewing policy, organization, and programs during the four-year leadership period and evaluating leadership based on results, Thapa has put forward a working direction to restructure the Congress from an election-focused organization into a political institution continuously connected to citizens.