Lalitpur: Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has said that the current political dissatisfaction and public movements in the country will automatically subside the day senior leaders of major political parties decide to take a break from leadership.

Speaking at a public event in Lalitpur on Saturday, Thapa strongly criticized the entrenched leadership within Nepal’s major parties, saying the lack of leadership renewal is the core problem of Nepali democracy.

"We talk about democratic culture, but the reality is that the same few faces who have been rejected by society continue to remain in power," said Thapa. "If those top leaders announce they’re stepping back starting today, this movement will end by this evening, and people will return home tomorrow."

Though he acknowledged that leadership change alone will not solve all problems, he insisted it would significantly improve the situation and allow for better solutions to emerge.

Thapa also rejected any possibility of a return to constitutional monarchy, stating unequivocally that Nepal’s monarchy "can never be made constitutional — not yesterday, not tomorrow." He dismissed calls for reinstating monarchy and challenged former King Gyanendra Shah to clarify what kind of system he envisions if the monarchy were restored.

Reflecting on his own political journey, Thapa noted that although he once believed in a multi-party system under a constitutional monarchy, he has since realized that Nepal’s monarchy never truly embraced constitutional principles, and thus the country must remain a republic.

Thapa also took a swipe at his own party leadership, saying there are “dozens of people in the Nepali Congress who could serve as a better Prime Minister than current party president Sher Bahadur Deuba.” He stated confidently that a leadership change is likely within 12 to 15 months.

Finally, Thapa identified unemployment as the most urgent issue facing the country, warning that unless present challenges are addressed, the public may look backward and demand the return of past systems.

"If today's questions go unanswered," he said, "people will start looking back to yesterday."