KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa has said the party’s leaders and cadres have increasingly lost the ability to distinguish between criticism and condemnation.
Speaking at a dialogue programme titled “He Told Us: In Spirit and Struggle” at the Nepali Congress central office in Sanepa, Lalitpur, on Saturday, Thapa said criticism and condemnation were fundamentally different.
The programme was organised to commemorate the death anniversary of Congress leader and socialist thinker Pradip Giri.
“We have reached an extreme where we have stopped distinguishing between criticism and condemnation,” Thapa said. “We immediately move to condemnation. At the other extreme, we move straight to complete support, where there is no room for questions.”
Thapa said Giri stood apart from both extremes.
“We worked with many colleagues in party office meetings. You could often predict what others would say—whether someone sitting on the right would speak in favour of the party president or take the other side,” Thapa said. “But when Pradip Giri stood up to speak, it was impossible to predict what he would say.”
Recalling Giri’s political and intellectual legacy, Thapa said the late leader had a unique appeal across political lines.
“He spoke from within. He had his own firm principles, but his disagreement went far beyond condemnation and was also different from the unconditional support we often see,” Thapa said.
