Nepal PM Karki calls for dialogue for finding solutions

Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Friday said the protection and successful implementation of the Constitution adopted 10 years ago is the responsibility of all Nepalis, asserting that democracy is a system of dialogue and finding solutions.

Karki was speaking at the main event organised here in view of the Constitution Day, also celebrated as the National Day across Nepal. However, unlike in the past, the celebrations this year are scaled down as the country mourns the death of 72 people in the violent protests by Gen Z that led to regime change last week.

Nepal’s Constituent Assembly delivered the Constitution on Asoj 3, 2072 Bikram Samvat, as per the country’s national calendar, or September 20, 2015, years after the erstwhile monarchy was abolished. “Listening to the voice of the people is the soul of democracy,” Karki, Nepal’s first woman prime minister, said. Recalling that the Constitution of Nepal is the result of “the sacrifice, struggle, and movement” of the Nepali people, Karki said “its protection and successful implementation is the common responsibility of all Nepalis.”

The recent Gen Z movement was a result of the dissatisfaction and expectations of the younger generation, Karki explained and made it clear that her government is committed “to listening to and addressing the voices of the people, as democracy is a system of dialogue and finding solutions.”

Karki, 73, became prime minister on September 12, ending days of political uncertainty after the ouster of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli following youth-led Gen Z protests against his government over corruption and a ban on social media.agencies