KATHMANDU, Feb 19: Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Kumar Thapa has vowed to transform the country’s political culture and development model through what he calls a new “pledge.”
With a commitment to re-establish Madhes as a “granary of the nation and a centre of knowledge,” Thapa declared that the party would no longer merely publish manifestos but would strictly implement every word of its commitments.
“I have not come here to read a speech written by someone else,” he said. “I travelled from Sarlahi to Kathmandu, sat with my team, and carefully drafted this pledge word by word. Whether in government or in opposition, every NC leader and cadre will abide by it.”
He described the party’s relationship with Madhes as one that transcends political gain or loss — a bond of “son and soil.”
Hamas welcomes Trump's retreat from mass displacement plan
Thapa raised the issue of Madhesi identity and dignity, saying, “I have not come here to be a leader of Madhes; I have come as its son. The blood of a Madhesi mother may not run in my veins, but in my chest is the courage of Durganand Jha and in my eyes the dream of Mahendra Narayan Nidhi.”
He pledged to create an environment in which Madhesis entering Singha Durbar would not feel the need to hide their dhoti-kurta and could proudly say, “Ham Madhesi chhi.”
Recalling King Janak’s vow regarding Sita’s marriage and Lord Ram’s victory in lifting the bow, Thapa said the NC’s future journey would be guided by commitment. “This is not merely a victory of strength; it is a victory of commitment,” he said. “What I am saying today is a pledge. Whether in government or on the streets, the Congress will not retreat an inch from it. We spent seven years studying 27 sectors to prepare this pledge. We will implement it word for word.”
Expressing concern over declining educational standards in Madhes, Thapa proposed special plans to improve mathematics and science education. In the health sector, he guaranteed a health insurance system under which citizens would not have to pay a single rupee.
He vowed to end the situation in which money earned through hard labour in Qatar is entirely spent on a mother’s medical treatment. “There was a time when people from the hills came to Madhes to study mathematics; today, schools here are struggling,” he said.
Saying he had closely observed the problems faced by sugarcane and potato farmers in Madhes, Thapa announced plans to declare this decade the “decade of farmers.”
For youths working abroad, he said the government would ensure special support through embassies and create conditions enabling returnees to become business owners upon their return. “We will make the country self-reliant in agriculture instead of importing agricultural goods worth Rs 400 billion,” he said.
Admitting that the Nepali Congress alone cannot transform the country, Thapa introduced the concept of “Team Nepal,” which, he said, would defeat not rival parties but misgovernance, poverty and unemployment.
He also instructed 32 candidates to go door-to-door spreading the message of a “transformed Congress.” “Go to every household and confidently say that we have come to deliver these commitments. Ask for votes. Listen to the voters and share your pledge with them,” he said.
