KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has publicly demanded the immediate resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli following the police crackdown that killed 19 youth protesters yesterday.

The demonstrators, mostly from the Gen Z generation, were protesting corruption, entrenched privilege, generational wealth inequalities, and the recent social media restrictions.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Thapa wrote that he could not sleep last night and that the horrific scenes of innocent youths being killed kept replaying in his mind.

He stated that Prime Minister Oli must take responsibility for the crackdown and step down immediately.

Thapa also called on the Nepali Congress to withdraw from the coalition government with Oli’s CPN-UML, stating that the party can no longer remain a passive witness or partner in the current administration.

He confirmed that he would push for a party decision to formally pull NC out of government. Thapa’s post comes amid growing criticism of him and the Nepali Congress for remaining largely silent during the violent dispersal, with some accusing the party of complicity due to its role in the coalition government.