Gagan Thapa insists for people in the party to undergo change for NC's transformation

Nepali Congress (NC) general secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has said the transformation within the Nepali Congress is possible provided that people in the party undergo changes themselves.

Inaugurating the first convention of Nepal Press Union Valley Pratisthan today, the leader said, "The Congress will change only if the people in the party changed."

He was of the opinion of freeing the party from bad culture, misconducts and corruption to regain its popularity and restore the public attraction. "It is necessary to dismantle the culture of groupism and membership system in the party," he said, adding that the situation making aspiring candidates to seek a favour of leadership should put to an end. People should have their roles in selecting their electoral candidates as of their representatives.

The former Minister advised the NPU to further raise its voices for improvement of the rights of working journalists. "Press Union is also responsible for warning the party if it failed to prioritise the rule of law, democracy and the press freedom."

NC central member Ajay Babu Shiwakoti stressed that the 'freedom of expression' shall always be the priority of Press Union. The former NPU general secretary believed that Nepali press would suffer if democracy got weakened.

NC central member Madan Amatya claimed that the Congress was always concerned for the protection and enchantment of citizen's rights.

Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Chair Bipul Pokhrel shared that the FNJ, the umbrella organisation of journalists, was ready to cooperate the Press Union over the issues of professional security of journalists.

NPU former chairs Kulchandra Wagle, Ramesh Toofan, former vice chairs Damodar Prasad Dawadi, current senior vice chair and general secretary Dilip Poudel accused the FNJ of expelling people active in journalism in the name of its attempts to make the organisation free from the involvement of 'non-journalist people'.

NPU chair Shiva Lamsal urged the government to revise its decision to cut off budget for capacity enhancement of journalists. He shared with the group that the NPU had decided to observe the year 2080 BS as the 'training year'.

The convention attended by NPU representatives from Kathmandu, Bhaktpuar and Lalitpur will elect a new leadership for the organisation today itself.

---