KATHMANDU, Jan 29: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader and Kathmandu Constituency-4 candidate Pukar Bam has ruled out sharing a platform with CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli, saying it is morally unacceptable to debate good governance with leaders accused of opening fire on their own citizens.
Speaking at a Nagarik Frontline program on Wednesday, Bam said standing on the same stage with such leaders—whom he blamed for pushing the country into its current state—would undermine RSP’s moral standing.
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Referring to incidents of state repression and the use of live ammunition during the Gen Z movement, Bam said senior political leaders must first apologise to the public before calling for debates on governance.
“Those who fired indiscriminately at citizens on the streets, resulting in the deaths of 19 to 20 youths, are we expected to sit on the same stage and listen to lectures on good governance from them? Our conscience does not allow that,” he said.
Bam also criticised leaders of traditional political parties for insulting young people by labelling them as thieves, calling such remarks a sign of deep arrogance. “They owe Gen Z an apology,” he said, adding that debating democracy and good governance with individuals tainted by repression and killings serves no purpose.
He further said that any engagement with RSP would require such leaders to first raise their moral standards. “Engaging in discussions with those synonymous with corruption and poor governance only drags us down. We will not do that,” Bam said.
Bam also argued that Oli represents not just an individual but a political tendency, and claimed that RSP senior leader Balendra Shah’s decision to contest the Jhapa-5 constituency was aimed at countering that tendency.
