Prime Minister Sushila Karki Faces Gen Z Outcry After Failure to Meet Protesting Delegation

A group of youth representatives, self-identified as belonging to the “Gen Z” demographic, traveled to the Prime Minister’s Office at Singha Durbar on Monday morning seeking an audience with Prime Minister Sushila Karki. The purpose of their visit was to submit a memorandum regarding the controversial appointments of the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary, Adarsha Kumar Shrestha, who is alleged to have hired his wife and relatives for government posts. Arriving at 11 a.m., the delegation was reportedly kept waiting for five hours and ultimately left without meeting the Prime Minister, leading to a visible display of anger and demands for her resignation.

The youth delegation was initially directed to a separate room, where Prime Minister’s Secretariat staff members reportedly engaged them in preliminary discussions. However, despite being told to wait for a meeting, the group was informed around 4 p.m. that Prime Minister Karki had already left her office for the day. This apparent failure to secure the promised meeting fueled the protestors’ frustration, who confronted Press Coordinator Ram Rawal, accusing the Prime Minister who came to power with the support of the youth movement of intentionally avoiding them.

During the escalating confrontation, several young people expressed their outrage, with one individual captured on video stating, “What is the use of a Prime Minister who cannot respect the demands and sentiments of Gen Z? We demand the immediate resignation of this Prime Minister.” Another lamented, “This government was formed with our blood, the blood of martyrs and the injured, yet they refuse to meet us. What kind of government is this?” As tensions rose, Press Coordinator Rawal attempted to de-escalate the situation, but the police had to be called in to prevent the situation from turning violent.

The delegation included representatives from various youth groups, such as the Sudan Gurung group, the Miraj Dhungana and Karnali Gen Z group led by Supriya Rajya Laxmi Shahi, and individuals from the Rabikiran Hamal group, including Vijay Shah and Tekendra Joshi. According to Gen Z youth Som Sharma, who was part of the estimated 50-person group that arrived, the Secretariat requested they select an 8 to 10-person representative body before the meeting, a process they claim was used to stall the meeting. Supriya Rajya Laxmi Shahi alleged that the Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor, Ajay Bhadra Khanal, engaged them in discussions in a separate room only as a diversion to allow the Prime Minister to quietly exit her office.

The youth’s primary demands, outlined by Shahi, include the removal of Principal Private Secretary Shrestha, the annulment of the appointments he facilitated for family members, and the removal and subsequent investigation of Attorney General Sabita Bhandari. Shahi criticized the treatment they received, stating that even an explanation from Mr. Shrestha about the allegations would have been acceptable, but the complete disregard for their presence was “deplorable.”

In response to the controversy, Chief Advisor Ajay Bhadra Khanal stated that the reports regarding Mr. Shrestha’s appointments were not entirely accurate and conceded that some of the youth’s demands were valid and currently under discussion. Press Coordinator Rawal attributed the scheduling failure to the Prime Minister’s demanding schedule. He noted that they were about to leave the office, and while they could not meet everyone, some representatives have been rescheduled for a meeting today. Undeterred, Supriya Rajya Laxmi Shahi confirmed that the group plans to return to Singha Durbar at 4 p.m. today to present their memorandum and warned that they would resort to a sit-in if they are denied an audience once more.